Phantom Blood
by Beauty In Her Darkness
Summary: Peter looked down as he felt a warm liquid touch his foot. The man hadn't gotten up. Slowly, Peter knelt down beside the man, setting his mask down on the ground, and pressed two fingers against his throat. There was no pulse. The agent was dead. Peter had killed him.
1. Chapter 1

"I'm swinging in on the right. Whose got the left?" Peter asked, pulling on his mask.

"I got that side from the sky," Sam said as he directed Redwing to fly around where Tony was distracting the gunners at the base they were about to storm.

"I got the ground," Natasha said. Even though she had already been on three missions this week, she didn't hesitate to throw herself back into the fray.

" _We_ got the ground," Steve corrected. "Are Bucky and Clint in place?"

"They better be," Wanda mumbled. Since they were supposed to give her cover fire while she did her magic, their positioning was particularly important. "Vision and Rhodey aren't going to make it, are they?"

Steve shook his head. "They're too far out. We can do this without them."

"Just because we can doesn't mean we should," Wanda said, red mist making her eyes seem demonic.

No one wanted to admit it, but she was right. After rebanding and expanding, the Avengers had to face the unfortunate reality that crime had flourished in their absence. Even HYDRA was pulling itself back together again, despite the fact that they had lost the Winter Soldier, Wanda, and Pietro, their strongest weapons. Luckily, Tony had managed to track down one of HYDRA's new bases and wasted no time on getting them all there. Vision and Rhodey were busy wrecking a smaller HYDRA base a few miles away while the rest of them were crouched on a rooftop above the bigger one.

"Okay, Spiderling, time to web them up," Tony said over comms as the gunfire increased.

Peter leapt off the building, his suits gliders slowing his descent slightly, and dropped fifteen stories before launching a web on one of the machine guns mounted on the base's roof. He swung onto the roof as Tony rocketed past him, his thrusters at full power. Peter saw Sam join Tony in the sky.

"Get down, there's snipers," Tony snapped. Peter immediately rolled behind a chimney as shots began being aimed at him. Red light in his peripheral vision let him know Wanda had joined the fight, and since he heard many startled shouts, he could only assume Steve and Natasha had also.

"Where's the target? I can't web him up if he isn't here," Peter said anxiously as Karen automatically muted the sounds of the battle so he wouldn't be overwhelmed. Even after fighting with the Avengers for months, he still wasn't used to the cacophony of battle.

"I guess he retreated down into the building," Tony said, sounding remarkably unfazed despite the fact that nearly all of the machine guns were aimed at him.

"Wanda, Peter, and I will go down. Natasha, find a way to get us down there," Steve ordered.

"Got it," Peter said. "Karen, deploy droney."

His drone zoomed around, giving him a full view of the fight. Wanda was busy destroying the machine guns, her side of the roof glowing ominously as a result. Clint and Bucky had commandeered one of the six sniper towers on the roof and were shooting anyone who had even a chance of getting near Wanda. She wouldn't be able to shield herself effectively while tearing apart the guns. Tony and Sam would occasionally swoop down low to get a more accurate shot but mostly stayed up high to draw away the fire. Steve and Natasha had found a hatch that led inside and were trying to open it.

"Karen, taser web," Peter ordered, flinging himself toward one of the sniper towers.

His first web hit the closer sniper, causing him to instantly collapse, and the second hit the circuit board, causing the lights to short circuit and explode. Peter easily scampered up the side of the tower on all fours, but he had rotten luck. The HYDRA agents had already pulled on their night vision goggles and holding long, serrated knives and pistols. Peter reluctantly conceded that HYDRA trained their thugs well.

"Okay, four of them, one of me," Peter mumbled as they slowly advanced. "This should be easy."

Peter rolled forward as they opened fire. Karen helpfully made droney fly past them to distract them. He quickly swept out their legs from under them and used his webs to pull away their weapons.

"Doors open. Get over here, Spidey," Natasha said sharply.

"Kind of busy," Peter gasped out as he crawled along to ceiling to avoid getting skewered by the one knife he missed.

"I'll take care of them, you get to the doors," Clint said.

Peter didn't question the archer, just smashed through the window and rolled upon impact with the ground. An arrow lodged itself inside the tower where the four snipers were and promptly exploded. Peter ran forward quickly to dodge the debris, stopping once he reached Wanda, Natasha, and Steve.

"You three go down. I'll make sure no one follows you," Natasha said, hefting her pistols.

"Clint, cover Natasha. Bucky, focus on the snipers," Steve said decisively. "I'll go first, then Peter. Wanda, guard our rear."

"We don't know how many agents are in there. This is suicide," Wanda protested.

"Unless we get the target, we have no way of finding any more bases," Steve said calmly. "Only the leaders know where all of the bases are and they've been careful to only transfer the knowledge verbally, so we have no way of pinpointing any locations. If they recorded anything electronically, Tony would have found it by now."

"Complain later, go now," Natasha shouted as she had to backflip to avoid being shot. " _Where's my cover fire, Barton?"_

"If I could eliminate all of our enemies at once, I would, Tasha," Clint snapped, intercepting a bullet aimed at her with an arrow.

"Wait a second before coming down," Steve warned before dropping down the hatch. They could immediately hear gunfire and groans.

Once Steve disappeared from view, Peter pulled himself down and crawled along the ceiling. Karen made his vibrant suit darken so he'd be harder to spot. He saw Steve duck into a doorway a bit down the hallway as the agents relentlessly shot at him.

"Web grenade, please," Peter said as he lined himself up with the agents.

Peter shot at their feet, instantly coating their legs in thick webbing. Wanda dropped down and yanked the weapons out of their hands.

"Great job, you two," Steve said, adjusting his shield.

"How are we going to find the target?" Peter asked. "He could be anyone in this building."

"He would have retreated to the most defensible location, which is usually near the center of the building. Trust me, I've stormed more of HYDRA's bases than anyone else," Steve said.

"He's right," Wanda said. "Let's just hope he doesn't have anyone with powers guarding him."

They made their way down the halls, checking every room briefly before moving on. Tony kept them updated on the battle outside, his voice the only thing that made them move quickly. Something felt wrong about this. They hadn't run into any agents yet they were nearly at the center of the building. Steve said it was because they were falling back to protect the target, but Peter's senses were going crazy. The further they went, the worse his apprehension got.

"Something's wrong," Peter whispered, feeling vaguely nauseous.

"Are you sure?" Steve asked, lifting his shield in preparation.

"Very," he managed to say, even as his head started to pound.

"We'll stay here and wait for the others to come," Steve decided, then said into the comms, "Nat, get Bucky and come down here. Clint can guard the door."

"What went wrong?" Natasha asked.

"Peter can tell that something's wrong, but we don't know what yet. Can't hurt to have some backup."

"Got it. Barnes and I are on the way."

Peter swayed. The lights were flickering, every shuffle of his teammates feet was seemingly amplified, and his nausea worsened. He could even hear the scrape of a glove squeezing a trigger…

"Get down!" Peter shouted, pushing Wanda down as shots began raining down on them from holes in the ceiling.

Steve immediately tucked himself behind his shield as Wanda erected a wall over herself and Peter. Peter shot webs up to block the holes but there were too many to cover without wasting all of his webs.

"Run. I'll cover you," Wanda said, extending the shield.

"Watch for Natasha and Bucky. They'll be here any minute now," Steve shouted behind him as he and Peter sprinted ahead.

Naturally, the next room was full of agents. Peter threw himself into the fray, webbing and kicking everything that moved. He saw Steve mow his way through the cluster easily so he focused on trying to find the door as he dodged blows and bullets.

Peter swore violently as a small blade was plunged into his arm but didn't let it deter him. Eventually, he found a door hidden behind a file cabinet. It had to be the one that led to their target.

"Steve, I'm going ahead," Peter shouted, knocking over the cabinet.

"I'll be there in a minute. Be careful," he said, taking up a defensive position in front of the door as Peter darted ahead.

A pair of seemingly impenetrable doors were at the end of a short hallway, but Karen quickly calculated the code to the door based on the impressions from fingerprints left behind. Peter barged in and narrowly avoided a bullet to the head. The target was alone but wasn't going down without a fight.

"Why can't you just put the gun down?" Peter groaned.

"Freak," the man spat out, even as he ran out of bullets. Peter was nearly an impossible target to shoot since he swung around so quickly and had perfected how to have as little of his body exposed as possible.

Peter webbed up the man (including a gag) and said into the comms, "I got the target. Where are you all at?"

"We're converging on your location. Keep an eye on our prisoner," Tony said.

Two minutes later, all of the Avengers were gathered around him. Natasha gave everyone a cursory check for injuries before heading off with Steve to clear out any lurking enemy agents. Tony stepped out of his armor and clasped Peter on the shoulder.

"This was a boring mission. Sorry you missed decathlon practice for this," Tony said.

Peter pulled off his mask. "Boring? HYDRA and boring don't belong in the same sentence."

"Whatever. F.R.I.D.A.Y., drag the target up top," Tony instructed. "Rhodey and Vision should be arriving with the Quinjet soon."

The suit scooped up the target and flew him down the halls. Tony and Peter lead the way out of the room, everyone else trailing behind them.

"So when's May expecting you back?" Tony asked casually, as if they weren't strolling around a HYDRA base.

"Tomorrow night. I'm supposed to call her when we get back to the Facility tonight," he replied, checking how much webbing he had left.

"I'd be excited except I know you're going to fall asleep in the Quinjet," Tony said with a smirk.

"Missions are tiring," Peter protested. Why could he hear that noise? The battle was over…

"Anyways, what should-" Tony began to say just as Peter's spider-sense spiked.

A HYDRA agent came barreling around the corner, gun aimed right at Tony. Peter didn't think or hesitate, just responded instinctively. Before Tony could even comprehend that there was a threat, Peter tackled the agent. The man's head hit the floor with a loud bang.

Peter scrambled up and kicked the man's weapon away as more agents charged them. Peter saw Wanda fling up a shield over Tony, who was defenseless without his suit or a weapon. The Avengers rushed past him to fight off the agents.

Peter looked down as he felt a warm liquid touch his foot. The man hadn't gotten up, so Peter assumed he knocked him out, but that wouldn't explain the blood. Slowly, Peter knelt down beside the man, setting his mask down on the ground, and pressed two fingers against the man's throat. There was no pulse.

Peter threw up.

"Spidey, pull your mask on!" Tony shouted. His voice sounded so far away. "Are you trying to get shot?"

The agent was dead. Peter had killed him.

Red light filled his gaze as Wanda extended the shield to cover Peter.

"I can't hold this for long," Wanda warned. "Peter, get out of here!"

Leave? He didn't deserve to. He had just slammed a man into the ground so hard that he cracked his head open like an egg on the cement floor. The blood that haloed the dead man's head reached Peter's mask and fingers. How poetic. He literally had blood on his hands.

"What the hell are you doing?" Tony shouted, slamming his fists against Wanda's shield. "Get over here!"

No. He deserved to die. He deserved to have a bullet hit him between the eyes and come out the other side. He was a murderer. Blood for blood to right a wrong.

"Steve, get the kid out!" Tony shouted.

Strong arms grabbed him and Peter lashed out. He couldn't leave, he couldn't just walk away free of all punishment after what he'd just done.

"Peter, stop. It's just me," Steve said, gripping the boys wrists tightly to stop him from punching. Peter could barely process what Steve was saying, all he could hear was the blood dripping out of the man's skull.

" _Get him out of here!_ " Tony screamed, still punching at Wanda's shield.

"Sorry, Pete," Steve muttered before tossing the boy over his shoulder and running back up to the roof. Peter stopped struggling. All he could see was the body and his mask lying in the blood.

"Wanda, get Tony out of there. Sam, Nat, Clint, Bucky, get out of there as soon as you can. S.H.I.E.L.D will be here soon. They'll take care of the remaining agents," Steve said into the comms.

"Copy that. What happened to Peter?" Wanda asked. All sounds were becoming more muted by the second.

"I don't know. I'll check on him in the Quinjet," Steve said, worry clear in his voice. Peter didn't care.

Long halls, flickering lights, labored breathing, fluttering heartbeat, distant gunfire. All of it barely reached Peter. He felt distant from his own body, as if his mind no longer had any control over it. He didn't want to be associated with the atrocity his super strength had committed. This wouldn't of happened if he'd never been bitten by that spider.

The pale yellow light of the base was replaced by stars, the stale air replaced with a cold breeze. They were outside for only a few seconds before Steve set him down on the seats in the Quinjet.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., scan him for injuries," Steve said breathlessly. Peter shut his eyes.

"Besides a stab wound in his arm that will heal naturally in another two minutes, Mr. Parker has no physical injuries," the AI reported.

"What's this about injuries?" A man asked, walking towards Steve. Rhodey. Rhodey was here.

"He's not hurt, but he stopped fighting. No one knows why," Steve explained. "He's not responding."

"Where's Wanda?" Vision asked sharply.

"She's coming. Did you get the other target?"

"Yes. King T'challa insisted on trying him in Wakanda because that man was running another base on Wakanda's border. We believe that faction was going to attempt to steal some vibranium," Vision said before heading down the ramp. "There she is."

Two more sets of footsteps. One stopped on the ramp but the other halted in front of him. Tony.

"Is he hurt?" Tony asked, his voice uneven.

"No, he's just shut himself off. Did you see what happened?" Steve asked.

"I didn't realize it at the time, but yeah. I saw it," Tony said softly. "I'm taking him to the side room. Don't let anyone disturb us."

Tony wrapped an arm around Peter and gently pulled him up. Peter opened his eyes and allowed Tony to guide him to the tiny side room near the cockpit. Tony set Peter down on the small bed there that was intended for medical purposes.

"It's just us now, kid," Tony whispered. "Do what you got to do."

Peter threw up again. It felt like his body was trying to purge itself of its guilt but settled for spitting out his guts.

"I did the same thing," Tony admitted as he passed Peter a towel. Peter trembled as he wiped his face. "It's not your fault. You may not believe me, but I swear that it's not your fault. You were just trying to protect me."

Peter leaned back, his head resting against the cold wall. He felt empty. Tony being there was inconsequential. Peter didn't feel like a person anymore. He was a ghost of a human being. Blood still coated his hands.

"Here. Let me," Tony said, reaching forward to wipe away the blood. Peter flinched away. Tony couldn't touch him. He was a monster.

"It's just me," Tony said gently.

That's why he flinched away.

"I'm not going to hurt you."

 _No, but I could hurt you_ , Peter though, turning away from Tony to face the wall. The Quinjet began to hum. They were lifting off.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Yes. No. He didn't deserve Tony, but he didn't want to be alone. Yes and no and yes and no until his head hurt.

Finally, Peter nodded. Tony sighed, clearly displeased, but left without another word.

Peter threw up again.

* * *

"What happened?" Steve demanded as Tony left the kid alone. Everyone eagerly awaited Tony's answer. They had grown very fond, not to mention protective, of Peter almost immediately.

"Peter killed one of them," Natasha said quietly once it was clear Tony couldn't. "He didn't mean to, but accidents happen."

That shut everybody up. Most of them hadn't killed anyone until they were at least in their twenties, Tony in his forties. No one expected that their youngest and purest teammate would break that streak. This was the same kid who made Tony take out the instant kill mode in his suit upon joining the Avengers.

"How's he doing?" Clint asked, genuine concern in voice. As an assassin, he understood everything Peter was going through and then some.

"He's puking and seems to have gone mute, so about as well as can be expected," Tony said bluntly. He sat down next to Rhodey and clutched his head. "God, I'd kill for a drink right now."

"At times like this, I wish I could drink," Steve said. Bucky nodded in agreement, but it was clear from the distant look in his eyes that he was thinking of his own body count.

"How long until we get back?" Tony asked heavily, shutting his eyes.

"Two hours. Should I call Mrs. Parker?" F.R.I.D.A.Y. replied.

"Not yet," Tony said. "I'll check on the kid in an hour. Hopefully, he'll pass out."

Natasha and Clint shared doubtful glances. They remembered their first kills vividly. It wasn't something you could forget so easily.

Wanda abruptly sat up, pulling away from Vision. He looked at her in confusion but didn't object.

"Open the door," she said, panicking as she ran towards Peter's room.

Everyone knew better than to question her. Steve hastily yanked the door open and Wanda was there only a heartbeat later, red magic swirling around her. She pressed a finger to Peter's forehead, causing him to fall over, completely unconscious.

"What the hell was that about?" Tony demanded, glaring at the witch. He may love Wanda, but he could never trust her powers after what she showed him that was essentially responsible for Ultron.

"He was trying to knock himself out," she said, brushing Peter's curls away from his face. "If you don't believe me, see for yourself."

Sure enough, there was a dent in the metal wall and a bump on the back of his head to match.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., tell Bruce to get the Medbay ready," Tony said, sitting down next to Peter. Wanda respectfully moved away. She could sense Tony's sadness and worry and was fairly sure it was giving her a headache.

"Wanda, how long can you hold this?" Steve asked.

She shrugged. "At least four hours, more if I'm alone with him. All of your emotions are distracting me."

"Do what you can. I'm going to check on the target," Steve said, heading to the other side room on the Quinjet, Bucky automatically following.

In all honesty, everyone had forgotten about the man they had locked up in their plane as their fear for Peter overshadowed everything else. Slowly, they drew away from Peter and tried to act like nothing was wrong. None of them bought it. They all knew that everything had changed the second the man's head struck the floor.


	2. Chapter 2

The room was unnaturally quiet. All conversations were hushed, eyes frequently fluttered over to the elevator, and in the center of it all, Tony sat at a table by himself, his half-finished glass of scotch clutched tightly in his hand. No one had the heart to try to take it from him, even though it was much too early to start drinking. They knew he had stayed up all night, but didn't even know what they could possibly say to him that he would even process. He was nearly impossible to communicate with on a good day.

The only person who was in worse shape than Tony was Wanda. She had managed to keep Peter asleep for five hours, but had collapsed from exhaustion shortly afterwards. She wasn't used to using her powers for such an extended period of time, especially her mental manipulation abilities. Vision had to carry her back to their room, and everyone was surprised that she was already awake, considering she could sense all of their jumbled emotions and it was undoubtedly causing her pain just to be in the same room as them. No one envied her ability to sense emotions at times like this.

Peter didn't leave his bed even after Wanda's influence ended. F.R.I.D.A.Y. reported that he fell back asleep after an hour of staring blankly up at the ceiling. According to the AI, he was still sleeping, albeit fitfully. Everyone secretly wished he would stay asleep so he wouldn't have to face reality. Of course that didn't happen, though. That would mean the Avengers would have to have had some good luck.

"Mr. Parker is awake and requesting that he not be disturbed," F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced.

Tony took a big swig of scotch before saying, "That's fine, but if he tries to hurt himself, leave, or mess with your programming, tell me right away."

If anyone thought that was too extreme of a precaution, they knew better than to say it. It was impossible to reason with Tony when he was like this.

"Understood. Should I have the cooks prepare him a meal?"

Tony grimaced. "I doubt he'll be able to keep anything down, but it can't hurt to try."

"Mrs. Parker is calling," F.R.I.D.A.Y. said somewhat sadly, knowing her boss wouldn't take this well. "Mr. Parker was supposed to call her last night."

"I'll tell her if you don't want to," Steve said softly. He didn't know how much more Tony could take.

"No. I should be the one to tell her. She'll blame me either way," Tony said in complete resignation as he headed into his office to take the call in private.

That was the sad truth of Tony's life: he was always the one that people blamed. Even if he hadn't gone on the mission, May would blame Tony for making Peter an official Avenger and inviting him on the mission. The fact that Peter had tackled the man specifically because Tony was defenseless only made things worse.

Steve sighed. "I'm going to go punch things."

Everybody except for Wanda and Vision joined him.

* * *

Peter woke up remarkably clear-headed considering he had bashed it against a metal wall only a few hours ago. Everything came across a little too clearly, though. He thought he had finally perfected blocking out all of the unnecessary stimuli years ago, but it felt like he was fifteen years old again and terrified of what that damned spider bite had done to him. All of the colors were too bright, the images too detailed. He could feel the individual fibers of his silk sheets sliding across him as he sat up. He could smell the sharp mint of his toothpaste wafting in from his bathroom. He could even taste the _air_. It was overwhelming, to say the least.

Hearing was the most painful by far. The humming of the wires in the walls, the air pounding through the vents, the water swirling in the pipes, the wind howling outside, the distant whirling of the elevator cables. He pulled his headphones out of his bag and slipped them on, sighing in relief. They were designed to cancel out all sound. Peter and Tony had created them together a year ago, but he hadn't needed them much.

Tony. Oh, God, he'd _puked_ in front of Tony. He hadn't meant to, but he just hadn't been able to stop seeing the blood. He knew Tony wouldn't judge him for that, he knew none of them would, but he wasn't ready to see them. He wasn't ready to do anything yet.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., can you tell them to leave me alone?" Peter asked, slipping off his headphones slightly to hear her answer. He knew from experience that she was required to tell Tony when he woke up after being injured on missions.

"Of course. Please tell me immediately if you need anything," she said.

Peter just slipped the headphones back on and stepped out onto the balcony. He realized that he was wearing a baggy t-shirt and sweatpants, but he'd been wearing his suit when Wanda knocked him, which meant one of them had changed his clothes and tucked him into bed. His money would be on either Steve or Tony. They acted the most like his father figures.

Speaking of his suit, he'd lost the mask during battle and blood coated the gloves, so Tony would need to fix it up. Not that Peter thought he'd ever be able to put on the suit again without seeing phantom blood. Actually, the more he thought about it, the more disgusted he was with himself. He couldn't claim to be a hero after cracking a man's head open effortlessly, even if the man was an evil HYDRA agent who'd tried to shoot Tony.

Peter looked down in surprise when he felt his fingers begin to tremble. The same thing happened after he fought the Vulture, but it always ended whenever he noticed. Instead, his hands began shaking even worse. Almost in response, the truth about last night truly sunk in. He had killed a man.

He knew that Tony was right, technically speaking. Peter hadn't tried to kill him, he'd just acted instinctively to protect Tony. No one could have predicted that it would end so horribly. Suddenly, it became hard to breathe. Peter sat down heavily, his breaths becoming nothing more than gasps as reality hit him. All of Wanda's dream effects had faded, leaving him in a world that was too sharp and bright and cold and outlined in blood. Peter had never more desperately wished that drugs worked on him so he could numb the pain that was slowly consuming him.

He leaned his burning forehead against the cold rails of his balcony as bile rose. It was like his body was punishing him by taking away his control. The wind picked up, already irritating his already overwhelmed senses. For a truly horrible moment, he considered flinging himself off the balcony before realizing that even a normal person could survive that fall.

Peter stumbled back into his room, bumping into a couch, his bed, and the door frame before collapsing over the toilet and retching. The cold porcelain soothed his skin, but the sharp scent of the chemicals in the room drove his nose insane. Not to mention that the lights were burning his eyes.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., turn the lights off," Peter managed to say before retching again. They turned off instantly.

Since he still had his headphones on, F.R.I.D.A.Y. projected a dim screen in front of him that said 'Should I contact someone to assist you?'

"Not yet," Peter whispered as he flushed the toilet. Barely anything had come up, but the smell made him want to puke again.

'Breakfast is arriving right now. I advise you to drink some fluids and attempt to eat something once your nausea passes,' she projected.

Even if he'd prefer to have Karen watching over him, he was slightly relieved that he wasn't entirely alone. F.R.I.D.A.Y. didn't know what happened though. Karen did.

He saw out of the corner of his eye that one of the many butlers Tony employed had set down a tray on his table and left quickly without having any trouble navigating in the dark. They knew better than to linger, even if he doubted that the butler had noticed him. Many of them were ex-S.H.I.E.L.D. agents, albeit the lower levels, and were trained extensively in how not to piss off the Avengers, and (more importantly) how not to startle them. Since all of them were paranoid and trigger happy, those skills were essential.

It was several minutes before Peter was able to shakily walk over to the table. A full platter of eggs, bacon, toast, and fruit stared back at him, and two glasses, one full of apple juice and one of water. Completely ignoring the food, Peter picked up the glass of water and began rinsing out his mouth in the sink. F.R.I.D.A.Y. flashed more warnings at him saying that he needed to eat which he easily ignored. He knew that whatever he ate would just come right back up.

After rinsing out his mouth thoroughly and drinking some water, Peter got dressed in jeans, a t-shirt, and a hoodie. Staying in his room was starting to feel suffocating so he decided to go outside.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., where is everyone?" Peter asked, pulling on socks and shoes.

"Mr. Stark and Dr. Banner are in the labs, Miss Maximoff and Vision are in their suite, and everyone else is in the training room," she said, then added, "If you are going to leave your room, I need to alert Mr. Stark."

"That's fine. Tell him that I'll be in the orchard, but I still want to be alone," Peter said, standing up. He needed to find his enhanced sunglasses before he went otherwise he couldn't leave at all. Too much light would hurt his already hypersensitive senses.

"Mr. Stark has agreed to this provided that you bring your phone."

"Got it right here," Peter said, tucking it into his pocket and ignoring the six missed calls from May.

After slipping on his sunglasses, Peter ventured outside.

* * *

"Tony, I really don't think that you should be drinking this much," Bruce protested as his best friend poured himself another shot.

"Really? Because I think I need it," he said, returning to his work space. He was uploading Karen's interface to one of the many Spider-Man suits he had ready for situations like this.

"He's leaving his room. That's good," Bruce said, trying to cheer up his friend.

Tony snorted. "You try explaining to May Parker what her nephew did next time then. Not that there will be a next time."

"She can't seriously blame you."

"No, she blames all of us this time. We corrupted her sweet child and now she's threatening to never let us near him again," Tony said bitterly.

"It's not like May can actually stop him," Bruce pointed out, trying to remain optimistic since his friend was clearly falling apart.

"Bruce, do you really think Peter will want to continue being Spider-Man after this? He's only a teenager and he just killed someone. That kind of thing leaves scars," Tony said, unplugging the mask and checking the wiring. Bruce didn't bother ask why he was fixing Peter's suit if he thought that the kid wouldn't wear it anymore. He knew Tony hadn't given up completely.

"He's not just going to walk away after everything he's done with us. Besides, he adores you. He'll want to see you again."

"It's not that simple. You know it's not. What did you do after you transformed into the Other Guy for the first time?" Tony demanded.

"I ran, but I didn't have anyone who would follow," Bruce said easily. It had taken awhile, but his past no longer haunted him. He was satisfied with his new life with the Avengers. "He does."

Tony sighed. "Emotions are exhausting. How do people handle this stuff?"

"You're a genius. If they can handle it, so can you."

"You're a surprisingly good cheerleader."

"I spent a few weeks at the Bartons'. Taking care of the kids and taking care of you are remarkably similar," Bruce teased.

Tony snorted and tossed a rag at Bruce. "Clean up. Rogers will drag us upstairs for dinner if we're not there in two minutes."

"Maybe you should go check on Peter first," Bruce suggested. "I can set aside a plate for you."

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., where is he at?" Tony asked.

"Southeast end of the orchard. Do you want me to call him back to the Facility?"

"No, I'll go to him. Anything I should know before I go?" Tony asked as he shrugged on his suit blazer.

"Mr. Parker is experiencing extreme hypersensitivity. It would be in his best interests for you to not touch him and to speak softly."

"Great," Tony groaned, getting into the elevator alongside Bruce, who gave him a sympathetic pat on the back. "Bruce, I have a favor to ask of you."

* * *

Tony found Peter easily. The orchard wasn't that far from the Facility, nor was it very big, so it wasn't hard to spot the young man lying flat on his back beneath the apple trees. Tony approached slowly and noticed that the kid had both the headphones and sunglasses Tony designed for him on. Actually, it looked like the kid was asleep, only the rise and fall of his chest proving that he was breathing at all.

"I'm awake. You can come closer," Peter said, staying exactly where he was.

"Can you even hear me?" Tony asked, worried that the headphones weren't totally soundproof. Tony sat down awkwardly next to the boy he considered a son.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. told me you were coming. I turned down the sound cancellation so I can hear you," Peter said, his lips barely moving.

"Have you eaten anything today?"

"I had an apple. That was all I was able to keep down."

Tony winced. With Peter's enhanced metabolism, that wasn't just worrisome, it was dangerous.

"Did you tell May? You must have otherwise she would have kept calling."

"I did," Tony confirmed. "She'd like for you to come home tonight, but said she'll understand if you want to stay the night. It's your choice, of course."

Peter's fingers curled almost imperceptibly around the grass blades beneath him as he said, "I should go home. May's probably freaking out."

"No offense, kid, but if you go home like this, May will freak out even worse. Have you even looked in a mirror today?"

Peter's silence was answer enough.

"You need food and a shower. I'll drive you home after that."

Peter sat up slowly. "You know, you really don't need to take care of me like this."

"Yeah, I do, kid. I really do."


	3. Chapter 3

_Two weeks later…_

"Did you finish all of your homework?" May asked as she rinsed off their breakfast plates.

"Most of it. I'll finish the rest during first period," he said while stuffing his homework into his backpack.

"Peter," May sighed. She may not be his biological mother, but she had perfected the exasperated tone of voice seemingly ingrained in mother's DNA.

"I know, I'll try to finish all of it at home from now on," he said, waving away her concern. "Besides, my grades are better than they've been since the start of the semester."

"That's true," she acknowledged. "And I'd like them to stay that way."

"So would I, but you know how crazy my Spanish teacher is when it comes to grades," he said defensively.

"Fair enough," she conceded. Abruptly, her demeanor changed. Peter tensed, already knowing what she was going to say. He overheard her phone call last night but hoped that she'd wait until after school to bring it up. "Tony called last night after you went to bed. He finished the modifications to your suit. He said you could go over to the Facility after school to pick it up, if you wanted to."

Peter pulled on his jacket slowly, his mind whirling. He didn't think Tony would be done for at least another week since the Avengers had been in Israel dealing with a hostage crisis for the last few days. He'd been following it loosely on the news so he knew that they had only gotten back last night. They knew better than to ask if he wanted to join them right now. It was still too soon.

Actually, the Avengers had kept their distance. After dropping him off at his apartment, he'd only talked to Tony once. He knew May was keeping them updated on how he was recovering so he did his best to mask his pain. He threw himself head first into school and decathlon practice so that May wouldn't have a chance to comment on the dark rings under his eyes. He made sure to eat when she was watching, but stopped the second she wasn't. Food tasted like ash in the aftermath. He just didn't want to worry May and the Avengers more than he already was. The only way to do that was to keep lying to May and to stay away from them. They were too perceptive for him to trick.

"I said that I'd go over to Ned's house after school," Peter lied.

"If you promised Ned that, then of course you should follow up on it. You can pick up the suit another time," May said immediately, a fake smile plastered onto her face.

"Okay, I gotta go now or I'll be late. I love you, May," Peter said, kissing her cheek. "See you tonight."

"See you tonight," she echoed.

Peter hurried to leave, sure she'd notice that he was leaving five minutes earlier than usual. He didn't want to talk about the Avengers. He knew she was confused about why he was avoiding them considering that they were the only ones who understood what he was going through, but he didn't know how to explain himself without sounding insane. They would see through his lies and fake smiles in a heartbeat. They would see the rings under his eyes and how much weight he lost and he wasn't ready for that. He wasn't ready to talk about any of it.

The bus ride was long and uneventful so Peter just slipped on his sound-cancelling headphones and made sure to dial it so that he could still hear slightly. He didn't want to be caught entirely unaware in case something happened. New York did seem to be the stomping ground for lots of villains. He nestled down into his seat and closed his eyes, trying in vain to get some rest before they got to school. He even made sure that one of the Midtown students he rode with on the bus would wake him up when they arrived, but sleep never came. Every time he shut his eyes, all he saw was a hallway of flickering lights and a man lying in a pool of blood.

"Peter, we're here," the girl said, reaching over to shake his shoulder to wake him up.

He lurched forward, her hand narrowly missing. "Thanks, Marlene. See you in English."

Ignoring her mildly bewildered expression, Peter grabbed his backpack and all but ran off the bus. He wound his way through the cars and students clustered in the parking lot and didn't bother to stop at his locker once he was inside. Flash and his friends had taken to hanging around the water fountain near his locker and he didn't feel like dealing with their taunting. Instead, he went right to his first period class and sat down between Ned and MJ.

"There you are," MJ said, not even looking up from her sketchbook. She was coloring in a phoenix she had drawn the outline to yesterday during decathlon practice while Flash had ranted mindlessly. "Do you think the tail feathers should be orange or gold?"

"Both. Start orange, fade to gold," he said, pulling out his math homework. May would kill him if he didn't finish it.

"Nice call," she complimented, selecting the appropriate colored pencils. He'd be surprised if he heard from her again this period. She got so absorbed in her artwork that she tended to forget about reality. He couldn't help but envy that ability.

"MJ is calling another decathlon practice after school. She wants to make up the time we lost to Flash's impromptu tirade yesterday," Ned said. He hesitated. "Can you make it?"

"Of course. I told you guys, my schedule is clear for awhile," Peter said, punching numbers into his calculator. He could do the math in his head easily, but he was too sleep deprived to trust his brain to give him the correct answers.

"When do you go back to Stark Industries?" Ned asked, trying to keep his voice light and failing. MJ's eyes flickered between them like she was following the ball at a tennis match, and not a very interesting one at that.

"Whenever Mr. Stark needs me again," Peter said a bit coolly.

He knew he shouldn't be mad at Ned. He hadn't told his friend about what happened two weeks ago, just that he was taking a break from being Spider-Man. Needless to say, Ned was dismayed beyond belief and kept subtly asking when his friend would start patrolling the streets again.

"Easy on the testosterone," MJ complained.

"Sorry," they muttered, turning to face the front of the room as the final bell rung. Both MJ and Ned noticed Peter's involuntary flinch at the piercing sound.

The day flew by quickly in a series of tests and lectures that were comforting to Peter. The monotony of school had once bored him, but now it provided a chance for him to ignore his problems by diverting all of his energy into school. Of course, that could only work to a certain extent. In history, they discussed the Howling Commandos, the Tesseract, Steve, and Bucky. In auto shop, they studied the designs of the first Iron Man suit. In Spanish, the jocks got into an argument with the teacher, claiming that there was no reason to learn another language. The teacher responded by pulling up the statistics of how many languages the Avengers knew, since it was no secret that everyone of them wanted to work for S.H.I.E.L.D. once they graduated. That seemed to be the goal of most kids these days and he knew the Avengers hated. They fought so that future generations wouldn't have to, but that didn't seem to be working. In fact, more and more villains and world-destroying events had happened during their formation that ever before.

And to round things off, the school had to lockdown during fifth period because Captain America and the Winter Soldier were chasing down terrorists practically in the parking lot. While all of the others kids were freaking out, Peter worried that the Avengers would request that he help them. They undoubtedly knew that this was his school.

Ned and Peter were crouched under desks next to each other so they were able to have a conversation without their teacher noticing. They technically weren't supposed to be talking, but Peter was confident that he'd be able to tell if a threat was coming.

"Are you going to help them?" Ned asked, visibly shaken. His guy in the chair was used to being far away from danger.

"I can't. I don't even have my suit, just my Web-Shooters," Peter explained. Even if he was adamant about taking a break from being a hero, he wasn't going to go around completely defenseless. Even before he'd met Tony, he always had his Web-Shooters on his wrists.

"What about MJ? She's in another class," he whispered, panicking.

"She'll be fine," Peter insisted. He knew Steve and Bucky were going to try to draw the terrorists away from the school, especially because Peter was here. Despite what many people thought after Sokovia, the Avengers weren't careless with lives.

"You don't know that," Ned said.

"Yeah, I do. Most of the school has already been evacuated. I can hear everyone leaving. And someone's coming right now. Stay down," Peter ordered. He raised his voice. "Everyone get back!"

His classmates and the teacher all ran to the back of the room, not questioning the fact that Peter was giving orders in their shock. Peter positioned himself so that he was nearly out of view of the door, but could still web up whoever came through. The lock was picked within seconds and Peter was greeted by the grinning face of Natasha Romanoff.

"Hey, pauk. I thought I'd find you here," Natasha said as he clambered to his feet. Pauk was Natasha's preferred nickname for Peter. It meant spider in Russian. "How many people?"

"Thirty-one. Fastest route out is down the east stairwell," Peter said, ignoring everyone's dumbfounded looks. He had helped her evacuate civilians enough times to know what to do.

"No good. They're moving to the east," Natasha said. She gave him an exasperated look. "Tony has your only one, doesn't he?"

She meant his suit. "Yeah," he said, avoiding her piercing gaze. "I can still help out if you want me to."

"No, Tony would have my head if I made you. Besides, the boys have this under control. Call it," she said, jerking her head at the cluster of confused people.

"Mrs. Diaz, take everyone out the west stairwell and go to the soccer field. Run once you're out in the open," he said as Natasha moved on to the next classroom. By his calculations, that should be the last classroom, assuming that there was another Avenger evacuating the other half of the building.

"Peter, where are you going?" Mrs. Diaz cried out as he followed Natasha.

"And how do you know Black Widow?" Flash yelled. Peter ignored both of them.

"You're coming, aren't you?" Natasha asked, her expression unreadable as she watched the students file out of the room, some of them crying in fear. Peter nodded, unable to speak. "Rooftop. Grab anything you need."

He nodded and ran to his locker. He quickly grabbed all of his spare web cartridges and his sunglasses. Two weeks later and his senses were still heightened.

He met Natasha and Clint on the roof and watched for a second as they gave Bucky and Steve cover fire. His breath began to hitch as the horribly familiar sounds of battle reached him. Natasha noticed him hesitating.

"Peter, you don't have to do this," Natasha said, still firing down below.

"Yes, I do," he said shortly before turning off the sound entirely and standing next to her.

Peter waited for his shot. He knew Clint and Natasha were watching, knew they must have told the others that he was here by now over the comms. He couldn't screw up. He couldn't take this much longer.

"Now," he whispered, firing a web.

All three terrorists were pinned down in one shot.

Peter turned to the two assassins.

"Take me home," Peter said, his hands shaking.

* * *

" _A typical day of work for the Avengers became anything but today as the terrorists they were attempting to neutralize neared Midtown School of Science and Technology. Captain America and the Winter Soldier stopped two of the five terrorists blocks away from the school after they blew up an empty car in a crowded parking lot. No one was injured, but they led the two Avengers on a car chase that ended in the parking lot of Midtown High when the Winter Soldier shot one of their tires. Black Widow and Hawkeye showed up at the scene moments later and evacuated the staff and students. Once they were all outside, Black Widow and Hawkeye gave their teammates cover fire from the roof of the school. In a surprising turn of events, a student joined them and used Spider-Man's Web-Shooters, pinning the remaining three terrorists down in a single shot. Tony Stark later announced that the student is his head intern, Peter Parker, and created the Web-Shooters, which is why he was able to wield them so effectively. Parker also codesigned Spider-Man's suit with both Iron Man and Spider-Man. Aerial footage shows-"_

Peter muted the TV and sighed. He knew most people would buy their cover story, but he'd be getting questions for weeks, if not months. He couldn't even deny his involvement because people had gotten footage of him on the roof. Six news stations had already called his apartment asking for interviews but he just let their calls go straight to voicemail. May didn't know whether to be amused or furious since he'd been Spider-Man for over a year without recognition but had just fought terrorists without a suit. She compromised by deciding to stay out of it after checking him thoroughly for injuries.

"I'd understand if you don't want to go to school tomorrow," May sighed, pouring herself a large glass of wine.

"No. If I don't go, it will only make things worse," he said, pulling out his phone. "Actually, if you don't mind, I'd like to go get my suit back from Tony. I really should have it with me at all times."

May was so surprised that she nearly dropped her wine. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I am. I miss being bulletproof when there's guns near me," he said with a wry grin.

"Okay, you should go call Stark. He'll send someone to take you over there."

Peter went into his room and sat down on his bed, the cool metal of his phone somewhat comforting. After taking a steadying breath, Peter dialed.

"I thought I'd be hearing from you," Tony said by way of greeting. "What do you want?"

"Can you send Happy to come pick me up? I miss my suit." Peter tried to sound casual, even as he felt himself relaxing just from hearing Tony's voice. His life would have been so different if Tony had never sweet talked his way into Peter's apartment. He wasn't sure if that was good or bad, but he did know that he missed Tony.

Tony laughed. "And here I thought you were calling because you missed me. You know, you owe me big. I had to sing your praise all day so the news doesn't tear you apart. I'm exhausted."

"As if you don't love the attention. How much has Stark Industries climbed on the stock market?"

"According to Pepper, three points. Probably four by the morning," Tony said smugly.

"It sounds like you owe me then," Peter countered.

"Fair enough. Happy will be there in a few minutes. See you soon, kid."


	4. Chapter 4

Peter was completely quiet on the drive over to the Facility, which he could tell was freaking Happy out. Peter _always_ had something to say in the past. It had once driven Happy insane, but he preferred it to the anxious aura emanating from the teenager now. Happy could see that Peter's leg was bouncing from the mirror and noticed that he had his headphones on. That was definitely a deviation from Peter's typical behavior.

Unable to stand the silence, Happy raised his hand to get Peter's attention. Peter slipped off the headphones.

"How are you holding up? I saw what you did today on the news," Happy said, making eye contact with Peter through the rear view mirror.

"I'm just glad that none of my friends were hurt," Peter said simply, but his leg was still bouncing.

"You're about to meet up with a bunch of soldiers, spies, and geniuses. You're going to need to lie more convincingly than that," Happy said as he pulled up in front of the Facility.

"I know. Thanks, Happy," Peter said softly. He quickly got out of the car so the man wouldn't have a chance to ask any more questions.

"Hello, Mr. Parker. It's nice to see you again," F.R.I.D.A.Y. said as soon as he stepped through the door.

"Hey, F.R.I.D.A.Y. Where's everyone at?" Peter asked, his footsteps echoing in the empty room. The only illumination came from the moonlight streaming in through the floor to ceiling windows.

"All of the Avengers are gathered in the common room. Would you like to go there?"

"Yes, please," he said, stepping into the elevator.

This was a bad idea. He had stayed away for a reason, but after one phone call, he had thrown all caution to the wind. Just this morning he was determined that he needed more time to recover yet he was seconds away from seeing them again. He missed Tony, though. He wanted to see the man that was practically his father even if they'd all be too worried about him to remember that he came for his suit. They'd notice everything right away, assuming Natasha and Clint hadn't already told them. They had ample time to notice everything wrong with him on the rooftop and on the car ride back to his apartment.

"Your heart rate is spiking. Are you alright?" F.R.I.D.A.Y. asked, pulling him back into reality.

"No, I'm not," he sighed as the doors slid open.

In an impressive show of self-restraint, they didn't all jump him at once. Tony, Steve, and Natasha came over to him, but everyone else stayed seated and watched them with careful gazes.

"Pauk," Natasha said as she gave him a brief hug. "May didn't bite your head off, did she?"

"No, she was very reasonable for once," he assured her. "She did ask that you don't drive me home in one of Tony's cars in the future since we're already getting pestered by reporters. You practically led them to my front door."

She smirked. "You're the one who wanted the ride home."

Tony rolled his eyes. "Move aside, Romanoff. Some of us haven't seen him yet."

"He's not much to look at right now," Natasha remarked before sauntering off. Peter winced. Of course she had noticed. It was impossible to trick the Black Widow.

Tony eyed him up as Peter shifted uncomfortably. He knew that the dark circles under his eyes were more pronounced than ever, that he hadn't even bothered to brush his hair that morning, that he was pale, and had clearly lost weight. He knew that he was a wreck. He just hoped that it wouldn't upset Tony too much.

"You look like crap," Tony said flatly.

Peter let out a soft, choked laugh. "I feel like crap."

"May said that you were doing okay," Steve said, obviously dismayed.

"May is easy to trick. I don't want to worry her," Peter said, looking up at Tony with pleading eyes.

"You know I won't tell her if you don't want me to," Tony said, running a hand through his short hair in frustration. "God, kid. Are you even sleeping?"

"Not nearly as much as I should be," Peter said honestly.

"Shit. F.R.I.D.A.Y., wake up the kitchen. You get to see everyone after you get food," Tony said, guiding Peter back into the elevator.

"Do I at least get my suit back?"

"Smartass."

* * *

"How have you been functioning?" Tony demanded as he watched Peter pull on the suit. With his shirt off, it was even more evident that he had lost weight.

"May wrote me an excuse for P.E. so I haven't done anything physical since the mission. I've been getting two to four hours of sleep every night. The rest has been coffee and determination," he explained. "I have to admit, I did miss Karen."

"Getting attached to AIs is dangerous," Tony warned.

"You're not turning Karen into an android with an infinity stone in its forehead, are you?" Peter asked jokingly.

"Watch the attitude. You're lucky that I'm protecting you from all of the mother hens upstairs."

"Why are you? You're normally more frantic, but you're taking all of this really well," Peter said as he tested out the Web-Shooters.

"Kid, I've been in worse shape than you, and no matter how much Rhodey and Pepper tried to help me, I didn't get better. I had to go at my own pace, and so do you. No one expects you to suddenly perk up one day and be totally fine."

Peter smiled wistfully. "That'd be nice."

"Yeah, it would, but it's impossible. It's the little things that tell you that you're getting better."

"Like what?"

Tony sighed. "Hell, I don't know. Eating three meals a day, showering consistently, sleeping through the night, going out of the house voluntarily. Once you start doing the things you did easily before, you know you're getting better."

Definitely not there yet, Peter thought as he pulled off the suit. They fell into a companionable silence.

"Tony," Peter began to say. Tony looked over at the kid. Peter swallowed before saying, "About today-"

Tony held up a hand, stopping the kid. "I know you're not ready yet. Taking the suit doesn't mean that you'll have to go on missions with us again."

Peter nodded, relieved. He had really missed Tony. Despite his appalling social skills, Tony always knew exactly what to say to make Peter feel better.

"So how are you holding up? I mean, did fighting earlier trigger anything?" Tony asked awkwardly.

Peter shrugged. "I was freaked out at first, but I'm fine now. It's hand to hand that worries me, not the Web-Shooters. These were specifically designed to be nonlethal."

"That's good. Romanoff and Barton were really worried about you. They know what fighting as a teenager can do to people."

Peter heard an edge to Tony's voice that he didn't entirely understand. Was he mad at Clint and Natasha or was he mad at Peter for fighting?

"You shouldn't of had to fight today. Romanoff should have evacuated you alongside everyone else," Tony sad, not looking at Peter as he spoke. Instead, he focused on pulling up holograms of the nanotechnology he was developing.

"Tasha didn't make me fight. I could have left if I wanted to," Peter protested.

"Let me rephrase. They shouldn't have given you an option. Aside from the Web-Shooters, you were defenseless. I know that you don't regret fighting today, but that was reckless."

"I know," Peter said quietly.

"I'm not trying to scold you, it's them who I blame. Do you know how many press conferences Pepper wants me to do to gush about my heroic intern? I'm tempted to reveal your identity just so that they'll all go to you instead of me," Tony grumbled.

"I won't have to do any, right?" Peter asked.

"Hell no. I'm upset, but not upset enough to feed you to the wolves. In fact, keep your head down around school. Your classmates are going to be asking you a lot of questions for the next few weeks that you can't answer. Lie your ass off, make stuff up, just ignore them entirely if you can."

Peter shifted uneasily. "They saw me talking to Tasha. That's going to be hard to dismiss."

"How do you even get in these kinds of situations?" Tony exclaimed.

"Like you're one to talk," Peter retorted.

Tony had no comeback for that. He deserved an award for how many crappy and downright absurd situations he'd gotten himself into.

"Just tell them that you met her while you were fixing her Widow Stings or something like that. They already know that you know me, so knowing Black Widow isn't that much of a stretch," Tony said airily. "Just try to lie convincingly. You suck at it."

"Thanks," Peter said sarcastically with an impressive eye roll, followed by an equally impressive yawn.

"You know that you're welcome to spend the night," Tony said gently. "I can call May."

"What does it matter? I'm barely going to sleep either way," Peter said in resignation.

Tony scrutinized Peter for a minute before pulling out his phone.

"Hi, May. No, he's fine. Yes, I swear this isn't an emergency. Yes, he has the suit," Tony said patiently as Peter looked on incredulously. "I understand that Peter has school tomorrow, but I think that he should stay the night. It's getting late and he really should get some sleep. Of course he'll have a ride to school in the morning, I have a flock of bored superheroes just sitting around all day and leeching off my generosity. This will help them feel like they have a purpose in life. Excellent, thank you." Tony tossed his phone on the table and smirked at Peter. "I think she's warming up to me."

"I think that becoming numb to your craziness would be more accurate," Peter mumbled.

"Okay, Spiderling, off to bed," Tony said, making a shooing motion. "You need rest, and I need to tinker with my nanobots."

Peter stood up and headed over to the elevator, patting Dum-E on his way out. Just before the doors shut, Tony called out to him.

"If things get bad, tell F.R.I.D.A.Y. to send me up. No excuses about not wanting to bother me, you and I both know that I rarely sleep at night."

Peter nodded as the doors shut.

* * *

Peter had once thought that his powers were a miracle, but he was quickly discovering that was as far from the truth as possible. His near perfect memory meant that his dreams were disturbingly accurate. That night was no exception.

 _The cement building shuddered with every single step he took as a light rain of dust wafted down from the ceiling. He was short of breath from running down the seemingly endless hallway for so long, but he knew that he couldn't stop or else something terrible would happen. The harsh yellow lights flickered on one after another as he passed them, only a looming darkness ahead of him._

 _He could hear distant sounds of fighting, gunfire, screams, and Tony's repulsors, but couldn't place where it was coming from. Maybe it was all around him. Either way, it didn't reach him. He just kept running into the dark._

 _And then everything changed. Tony was next to him, out of his Iron Man suit, just like he had been in reality. The hairs on the back of his neck rose as the HYDRA agent barreled around the corner, his gun raised and his finger curling around the trigger._

 _Peter didn't hesitate. He threw himself in front of the gun and sighed in relief as the bullet pierced his forehead._

Peter stumbled out of bed, the feeling of the bullet and the blood still haunting him. He barely made it to the toilet before he emptied the contents of his stomach out, just like he did after every nightmare.

It didn't take long to clean himself up again (he'd been getting plenty of practice), and thankfully F.R.I.D.A.Y. seemed to realize the best thing that she could do was leave him alone. He frowned as he realized how prominent his rib cage was getting and decided to go down to the living room to get some snacks or maybe watch some TV. That always helped to tire him out.

Peter liked how quiet the Facility was at night. Even if he knew Tony was still awake in the labs and that there had to be at least one other Avenger awake due to PTSD and paranoia, the quietness of the Facility made it seem less like an impersonal building and more like a home. It also helped that the reduced stimuli meant that he didn't need his headphones.

As Peter headed into the living room, he realized he wasn't alone. The TV's volume was on so low that a normal human wouldn't be able to hear it, and the brightness setting was on as dim as possible. From that alone, he could tell that it was either Steve or Bucky. They were the only ones that could hear and see at that level.

"Hey, Peter," Bucky said, sitting up from his spot on the couch. Bucky was careful to keep his voice low.

"Hi," he said a bit hoarsely. He had just woken up, to be fair. "Couldn't sleep either?"

"Actually, I got shot in the leg today," Bucky said way too casually. "Painkillers wear off too fast to be effective so I decided to stay up while my healing factor finishes its work."

Peter blinked. He had been so messed up earlier that he hadn't bother to check if anyone had been hurt. He had assumed that Natasha and Clint would have told him when they took him home.

"So why couldn't you sleep? Nightmares about death?" Bucky asked, laughing a bit darkly. "You know F.R.I.D.A.Y. told Stark the second you woke up, right?"

"I know," Peter said quietly.

"They get better over time. The nightmares," Bucky said. Peter noticed that he was fiddling with a small pocket knife. Bucky was unparalleled in paranoia among the Avengers, which no one could blame him for. "It might not seem like it now, but they do."

"Does anything help?"

"People help. Talking to Stark is a good start. I'm not sure if he told you, but he programmed F.R.I.D.A.Y. to tell Steve and I if either of us have a bad night. It helps."

"I'm not ready to talk about it anymore than I already have," Peter said decisively. "Do you mind if I join you?"

"Sure, but grab a snack first. You look like you need it," Bucky said, grinning faintly.

Almost without realizing it, Peter grinned back.


	5. Chapter 5

Natasha had grown used to weirdness that was characteristic of her line of her work and firmly believed that it would take another alien invasion to surprise her. She was proven wrong when she walked into the common room and saw the Winter Soldier and Spider-Man asleep on opposite ends of the couch.

Grinning slightly, she quietly made her way over to the kitchen where Tony and Steve were grinning their heads off. She poured the remains of the coffee pot into her preferred mug that Lila and Cooper got her as a present for her birthday last year and sat on top of the counter. Like Clint, she liked to have a clear view of her surroundings. Seeing as how the boys were looking at her in amusement, she decided the civilized thing to do would be to engage them in conversation.

"How long have they been like that?" Natasha asked.

"About four hours," Tony said. Judging by his bloodshot eyes and monstrous cup of coffee, Tony hadn't slept at all.

"He only got four hours of sleep?" She was confused as to how that would be a reason to celebrate.

"No, he was sleeping in his room before he came down here. He got about seven hours of sleep total," Steve said, smiling.

Natasha grinned. "Not bad. Did he say how much he was getting before?"

"About four. We're going to have to wake him up soon. He has school today," Tony said.

"Have Rogers wake him up. Just in case he lashes out," she added when Tony opened his mouth to protest. "He has enough guilt without breaking your nose."

Natasha and Tony watched as Steve walked over to the couch and gently nudged Peter's shoulder. Steve leapt back as Peter instinctively blocked. They could immediately hear Peter gasping out a string of hurried apologies.

"It's fine, I swear. Bucky nearly tossed me out a window for doing the same thing the the other day," Steve said calmly.

"I regret nothing," Bucky mumbled as the commotion woke him up.

"I know, Buck," Steve said, holding in a laugh. He sobered up when he saw Bucky sheath the pocket knife he had instinctively drawn. Steve, Tony, and Natasha all internally prayed that Peter would never reach that level of paranoia.

"Peter, how about you go get dressed and then come back down here for breakfast?" Steve suggested quietly.

Peter nodded and hurried over to the elevator, pausing only to wave to Tony and Natasha.

"So when's Pepper flying in?" Natasha asked as Steve and Bucky began talking too quietly for them to hear.

He eyed her warily. "I never told you that Pepper was coming."

"You don't drink that much coffee unless you want to hide how late you stayed up from her," Natasha said matter-of-factly. Tony had the most obvious tells of anyone she knew, except maybe Peter. Maybe that's partly why they got along so well. They couldn't lie to each other.

"She'll be here in two hours. She's going to be very upset that Wanda isn't here."

"That's not something that could be avoided. She had a perpetual migraine because of us." With everyone's convoluted emotions in response to Peter's situation, Wanda had been receiving too much input for her brain to sort through. Wanda and Vision had left a week ago to give her time to recover. They didn't know when they were coming back.

"Barton's going home today, right?" Tony asked after a massive sip of coffee.

"Tomorrow," she corrected. "I'm going to visit his farm over the weekend."

"Sure, do whatever you want. That'll make it easier to have some alone time with Pepper," he teased. "Are you taking Bruce with you?"

"That depends on if he's still working on that sleeping pill for Peter," Natasha said, enjoying the look of shock on Tony's face. "What? Did you really think I wouldn't find out? Aside from having Bruce wrapped around my finger, it wasn't that hard to put the dots together. You weren't exactly trying to keep it top secret."

"Don't tell the kid. I don't want to get his hopes up when it might not work," Tony begged - well, you could call it that, but his ego made it seem like it wasn't that desperate of a request.

"I won't," she assured him. "Though the pill might not be necessary if he's finally sleeping."

"One night doesn't mean that he's cured," Tony said, and promptly finished his coffee. He grimaced. "Damn, this caffeine is not kicking in fast enough."

Steve and Bucky came into the kitchen, the latter's hair messy and exhaustion clear in his eyes. The spy and billionaire parted to let the soldiers start foraging for food. Those two rarely waited long enough for the cooks to whip something up for them, much to Tony's aggravation, but he did try to remember that they grew up poor. They weren't used to others cooking their meals for them.

"I got the kid to eat more last night," Bucky said. "I'm not sure how healthy it was, but at least he didn't puke it all up when he woke up."

"How'd you do that?" Natasha asked curiously. While Peter and Bucky had technically spent a lot of time together, they scarcely were alone when they saw each other. Steve or Sam were always there, so how close were they really?

"I have a lot of experience with getting little punks to eat," Bucky said flatly. Steve snorted, but didn't deny it.

Bruce wandered into the kitchen and made a beeline for the coffee pot. Upon seeing that its contents had already been consumed, he simply said, "Why?"

Steve immediately began making a new batch, ever the mother hen as Tony liked to call him. Bruce muttered his thanks before sitting down heavily on a stool under the center island, Natasha perched on the island slightly above him. She arched an eyebrow at him.

"Rough night?" She asked.

"Helen sent me a tissue sample of someone who had come into contact with powerful gamma radiation. She wants me to compare it to my tissue in case another Hulk has been created," he explained, tapping his fingers against the counter. "The sample was highly saturated so I recommended that they put the infected person in quarantine until Helen and I can tell if there will be any side effects."

"Did you get any sleep?"

"Does falling asleep in my lab count?" Bruce asked sarcastically. Steve passed him a cup of coffee. "Thanks, Steve."

"No problem," Steve said. "But shouldn't you go get some more sleep?"

"No. I need to keep observing the sample to make sure it doesn't mutate or implode," Bruce said wearily.

Peter came back into the room dressed in a hoodie and jeans, his headphones hanging around his neck. Steve slid a glass of orange juice over to him as the teenager sat down next to Bruce.

"Bucky's making eggs and I'm starting the pancakes right now. Do you need anything else?" Steve asked.

"No, that should be fine," Peter said, but it was clear that he'd rather not eat at all.

"You can put on the headphones if this is too much," Tony said quietly. "Just make sure that you can still hear us."

Peter nodded gratefully and slid them on. They hadn't noticed how tense he was until he visibly relaxed with the headphones on.

"You didn't use to have this level of sensitivity. How long has this been happening?" Bruce asked curiously.

"Two weeks," Peter said. Everyone knew what he meant.

"Is it just you ears?"

"It's everything," Peter said softly, looking down at his hands. "That's part of the reason why I haven't been eating or sleeping enough. I can taste every little ingredient in the food, so when they all mix, it tastes like ash. I had to start sleeping with my headphones on because May's _breathing_ was keeping me awake, not to mention my loud neighbors and the cars outside."

"Does it feel like what the spider bite originally did to you?" Bruce asked carefully.

Peter stiffened. There was an unspoken agreement among the Avengers that they weren't supposed to ask Peter about his uncle and the bite. During a particularly awkward evening when they were still trying to get a feel for Peter's character, Sam had asked what the spider bite was like. The normally cheerful boy had looked over at the veteran and flatly said that he better hope that he never finds out. For Bruce to so obviously violate that agreement meant that he was seriously concerned.

"Yes, it does," Peter said shortly. "What has that got to do with anything?"

Bruce looked thoughtful. "I'll have to get back to you on that."

All of the Avengers knew about the lab that Peter's school had toured where he got the spider bite. Tony had easily found out which one it was and before letting them meet Peter as himself and not his alter-ego had explained what that bite had done to him. It was comparable to the super soldier serum, even if its effects were more bizarre. They had seen pictures of Peter before the bite and after. They knew all the facts about his life and career as a hero, yet they had never gotten Peter to tell them what the bite had felt like. Not even Tony or May knew. That was the one secret Peter Parker seemed determined to take to the grave.

Steve placed down plates in front of Bruce and Peter. The two began eating, though Bruce did so with much more enthusiasm. Natasha accepted a plate from Steve without a fuss, but Steve had to verbally threaten Tony before he took a bite. Tony never had much of an appetite in the morning.

"I'll drive you to school in twenty minutes," Tony told Peter as he received a message on his phone. "I just have to take care of something really quick."

Before Steve could stop him, Tony was out of the kitchen and in the elevator muttering commands to F.R.I.D.A.Y. Peter didn't seem too bothered. He was used to Tony rushing away abruptly. It was inevitable with how busy he was between the Avengers, Stark Industries, dealing with the governments that were still trying to push through a revised Sokovia Accords, and just trying to get some alone time with Pepper. Tony tried to balance his life, but it just wasn't possible sometimes.

"Are you sure you want to go back to school?" Steve asked carefully.

"I don't want to. I have to," Peter said dully as he pushed around the eggs with his fork. After a stern look from Steve, he shoveled some into his mouth.

"That's the attitude," Natasha said dryly.

Peter seemed too tired to reply to that. Bucky left to go shower and change his clothes. Natasha noticed that he was limping slightly and briefly wished that he wasn't so stubborn about getting medical attention. She understood why both he and Tony had so much trouble letting doctors near them after what they'd gone through. She wondered what lie he had told Peter to keep him from inquiry after Bucky's wound. Probably something to do with painkillers and his healing factor.

"Peter, did you bring your backpack here or did you leave it in your apartment?" Steve asked as he sat down with his enormous breakfast plate. Only Thor ate more than Steve, though Peter used to give them both a run for their money. Peter hadn't actually met Thor yet. The sixth Avenger had been in Asgard for awhile now, but his teammates knew better than to worry about him.

"I didn't think I'd be staying the night," Peter said, his fingers curled tightly enough around the fork to dent it.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., send someone to Peter's apartment to pick up his backpack and bring it to his school," Steve said.

Peter looked startled, but didn't object. Everyone knew he was still adjusting to Tony's obscene wealth and influence. It could be argued that half of them were still adjusting to it too.

"Mr. Parker, Mr. Stark would like you to be in the car shortly," F.R.I.D.A.Y. announced.

"I'll see you all later," Peter said, getting up.

A chorus of goodbyes followed him to the elevator, but he had already turned his headphones off.

* * *

"I can't believe that you're at school," Ned said as he sat down next to Peter in their homeroom. Thanks to Tony's reckless driving, Peter had arrived at school earlier than usual.

"Ned, yesterday doesn't matter. Everyone knows that I'm Tony's intern already. I haven't been quiet about it," Peter said calmly even as every sound practically made his ears bleed. He wished he could keep his headphones on all day, but that might raise some eyebrows.

"Yeah, but now people know that you made Spider-Man's Web-Shooters and that you have your own pair. Plus, you just stopped a bunch of terrorists with them. That makes you awesome."

"Ned, stop fangirling. You realize yesterday was easy compared to what I normally do on the job, right?" Peter asked. In his head, he amended his words to _physically_ easy.

"On the job? Are you going to be Spider-Man again?" Ned asked excitedly.

"What? No. I mean, I got my suit back from Tony, but I'm not going on missions with them for awhile. I need to lie low right now," he insisted.

MJ sauntered into the room and sat down next to Peter, people parting to let her through. Her very presence was intimidating to some. MJ reminded Peter of a cat, though he knew better than to tell her that. She acted like she was superior to everyone else and didn't need anyone, yet she always sat with Peter and Ned, kind of like how cats would sit adjacent to their owners while simultaneously ignoring their existence. It was a fun comparison that he knew she wouldn't appreciate.

"Morning, MJ," Peter said in amusement.

"Has anyone asked for your autograph yet?" MJ asked, smirking at him. "Intern?"

Peter hadn't outright told her that he was Spider-Man, but she had connected the dots months ago. She hadn't made him fess up yet and he hadn't explained himself, so they continued to dance around each other. Ned was all for telling her, but MJ didn't seem to mind. In fact, Peter was willing to bet that she loved the mystery more than she would love the truth.

"A few, but I'm not interested."

"Really? Because I'd like to know how you know Black Widow," she said, daring him to come up with an excuse worth her time.

"Mr. Stark had me help fix her Widow Stings. I met her when she picked them up from the lab," Peter said, glad that Tony had given him a plausible excuse to use.

"That's it, huh?" MJ asked, pulling out her notebook. "Because from what I've heard, you two were pretty friendly during the lockdown. She even had a nickname for you. These kids even said that they have a video as proof."

Crap. Why would anyone be taking a video when terrorists were literally a stone's throw away from them? He had to tell Tony about this.

"We've talked a few times since. I've worked on all of the Avenger's gear," Peter said, trying and failing to improvise. He really sucked at lying.

"Whatever you say, Peter," MJ said as the teacher began to call everyone's attention to the front of the room.

That might have been the most uncomfortable class of his entire life. All of his classmates kept sneaking looks at him as if he was just going to whip out the Web-Shooters and stop another horde of terrorists. A few even tried to pass him notes when the teacher wasn't looking, but he never even looked at them. MJ ignored them all, but Ned was watching their classmates carefully. As much as he loved how popular his friend was, he cared about Peter's well-being even more.

Peter had never been more grateful that the bell rang as shrill as ever, hurting his ears, and forcing everyone to get up and go to their next class. As always, Peter scooped up MJ's books and led her to her next class since it was next to his. Ned had class on the other side of the building so he waved goodbye to his friends and headed off.

"Parker!" Flash called out, storming towards the duo.

"This should be good," MJ commented, leaning back against the lockers.

"Not helpful," Peter complained as Flash and his equally ridiculous friends drew closer.

"How the hell did you manage to shoot _Spider-Man's Web-Shooters_?" Flash demanded.

"Well, I made them, and was the one to test them before they were given to him, so I'd say it wasn't that hard," Peter said coolly. He was not in the mood to deal with arrogant pricks.

"And what about Black Widow?" One of Flash's friends asked.

"I helped repair her Widow Stings and Mr. Stark told her that I was here and could help with the evacuation. I did my job," he said simply. He didn't even have to lie about that last part.

"You said that you were just an intern," Flash said angrily.

"I'm Mr. Stark's personal intern, Flash. Did you really think he'd hire me if I wasn't capable of keeping up with the Avengers?" Peter asked, liking how flushed Flash was. "Now if you'll excuse me."

Peter turned around and strode back to where MJ was waiting at the lockers. She seemed to be arguing with an older boy, and Peter didn't like how close he was to her. The boy noticed Peter coming and whispered something in her ear before storming off. MJ looked pissed.

"Was he bothering you?" Peter asked as they hurried to class. They only had one more minute before they'd be marked late.

"He's _been_ bothering me for a few weeks," she corrected. "I helped him with a science project and suddenly he thinks he has a chance with me."

MJ had never dated anyone to Peter's knowledge. _No one_ had a chance with her.

"I could get rid of him," Peter offered, sincerely meaning it. Now that he had a rep for stopping terrorists, he bet he could scare the boy away. The only difficult thing was that he was unwilling to back up his words with physical action.

"No. I'll deal with him. Besides, you're a head shorter than him. He'd probably just laugh at you."

Peter couldn't really argue with that point. "Okay, just let me know if you change your mind."

MJ smiled. "I will."

They both knew she wouldn't.


	6. Chapter 6

Peter was in the training room.

The Avengers couldn't help but watch him out of the corner of their eyes while they sparred and stretched. Peter wasn't even fighting, just doing gymnastics and acrobatics on the mats and bars. He had his Web-Shooters clipped on his wrists in case he fell, but that was just a precaution. His reflexes were too good for that to ever happen.

"Is this good or bad?" Steve asked quietly, fairly confident that Peter was too far away to hear. He seemed very preoccupied as he swung around and around a bar, his technique flawless.

"He needed to burn off some steam," Tony said, grunting as he lifted weights. "Where else was he supposed to go?"

"Tony, he hasn't been in here since before the accident. He might react badly if this triggers any memories."

"I know. Just give him space and make sure Romanoff doesn't ask him to spar," Tony said stiffly.

Peter let go of the bar, did a flip in midair, and landed lightly in a crouch. Peter sighed when he saw everyone's eyes on him. He walked over to the bench where he had dropped his stuff and began chugging down his water bottle.

"So what's eating him?" Steve asked.

Tony set down the weights. "I don't know. He doesn't want to talk about it yet. I'm not going to push him."

"Wouldn't it be healthier if he talked about it now?"

"You're asking the wrong person that question."

"No, I'm not. You're practically his father. You know him better than any of us."

"I've never dealt with a situation like this before Steve. When I talk to him, I don't feel like I'm talking to the same kid who used to beg me to make him an Avenger. He's changed and I don't know what to do about that," Tony admitted.

Peter crawled up a wall and stood completely parallel with the ground before shooting a web and swinging down to the higher bar. His momentum made him swing around it several times easily. Steve heard Clint wryly remark that he could have been a gold medalist if his athleticism wasn't a result of a radioactive spider bite.

"Neither do I," Steve said. "I don't react well to these sorts of things."

"To what?"

"Guilt. I had no idea of how to help Bucky after Shuri got that programming out of his head, and now I don't know what to say to Peter."

"I don't think Peter has as much guilt as Barnes. He's just spiraling right now, trying to figure out what he wants to do next while not worrying either us or May."

Steve handed Tony a towel. "You do know that Peter might chose to leave the team."

"I do," Tony said flatly.

"What are you going to do if he does leave?" Steve pushed, unsatisfied with Tony's terse answer.

"What can I do? I'll let him leave, if that's what he wants to do. Before you ask, I'll stay away if he needs that, too. I've run the scenarios and I'm prepared to do whatever it takes to help him," Tony said tightly.

Steve nodded and backed off. He knew Tony was close to a breakdown and he didn't want to be the catalyst. He just didn't want his friend to be caught unaware by whatever came next.

* * *

"How's school, pauk?" Nat asked as she nestled herself between Clint and Bruce, her plate not even rattling even though there was a fork and knife balancing on it.

Peter quickly swallowed before saying, "Fine. My grades are looking good for once."

"Nice. And how are the friends?"

"Ned is pestering me to put back on the suit again, but otherwise all is well on that front. I'm worried about MJ, though. There was this boy bothering her the other day and from what she's said, it's not the first time."

"Steve would have kicked that kid's ass when he was your age and have a concussion to prove it," Bucky quipped, earning a rare, genuine laugh from Steve.

"It's not the forties anymore, Buck. Peter's too smart to get caught up in fights like that," Steve said, grinning at his friend. Peter was reminded of how Pepper had told him they hardly heard Steve laugh before Bucky joined the team.

"He's right. Two kids just got expelled for fighting on campus. It was only their second offense," Peter said.

"When we were in high school, the teachers would bet on our fights," Bucky grumbled.

Natasha snorted. "When I joined S.H.I.E.L.D., Fury had to make an official announcement to all of the senior officers that if they were caught betting on my missions, they would have to work on the janitorial squad for a day."

"The janitorial squad?" Bruce repeated, sure that he had misheard her.

"Yep. No one wants to clean up acid spills, blood, and the like," Natasha said, very much enjoying how that made everyone squirm uncomfortably.

"I could have been rich if it weren't for that man," Clint said wistfully. Natasha elbowed him and the two assassins grinned at each other.

"So how'd the Web-Shooters feel?" Tony asked his pupil.

"How did you increase the release speed?" Peter asked in response.

"It's similar technology to my repulsors," Tony said, modest for once.

"Nice," Peter complimented. "I hadn't thought of that."

"You would have eventually."

"I still don't believe that Stark managed to find an enhanced, genius kid in desperate need of a father figure," Clint said disbelievingly. Peter would have once stuttered and blushed to refute this, but their father and son bond was just an accepted truth at this point. "And you two get along. Admit it, kid. Tony made you in a lab."

"Well, our first meeting wasn't exactly heartwarming. Peter webbed me to his bedroom door," Tony said, relishing his teammates flabbergasted expressions.

"I only did that because you threatened to tell Aunt May that I'm Spider-Man," Peter shot back.

"I needed you to come to Germany," Tony said shamelessly. "But you had _homework_."

"Yes, and I nearly flunked English because I had to skip an entire project to help you beat them up," Peter said, gesturing to Steve and Bucky.

"What kid says no to a free trip to Europe?"

"I came, didn't I?"

"Yeah, after I had to blackmail you."

"You ignored me for the next few months," Peter said, determined to not let Tony win their mock argument.

"I was a little busy dealing with the Sokovia Accords."

"And then you took away my suit."

"At which point you nearly killed yourself fighting the Vulture in your onesie."

"And stopped all of arc reactors from getting sold on the black market in the process."

"You turned down a spot on the Avengers."

"I'm part of the team now."

"May found out without me having to tell her."

"She blamed you, not me."

The Avengers heads whipped back and forth as they watched the two retreat into their own little bubble. They hadn't seen either of them this lighthearted since before the accident. Tony had started drinking again, spent all of his free time in his labs, and drank coffee at night to avoid sleeping. Peter had stayed away and slowly grown gaunter and got way less sleep than what was considered healthy. They all traded relieved grins as they watched the duo.

Peter abruptly pulled out his phone. It started ringing as soon as he walked away to take the call. He rarely let his precognitive senses show so obviously. They hoped that it was a sign that he was getting better.

"No, I'm not spending the night. Yes, someone always drives me home. You don't need to worry about that. I don't know, an hour or two? Yeah, I'll call you when I'm leaving," Peter said, pacing slightly. The Avengers didn't even bother to pretend like they weren't eavesdropping. "I love you, too. Bye."

Peter sat back down, clearly disturbed. He barely looked like the happy boy that had been joking with Tony only seconds ago.

"Is everything alright at home?" Steve asked gently.

Peter shrugged as he tucked his phone back into his pocket. "May walked in on me playing on my computer last night and realized how little I've been sleeping, so now she's freaking out. She doesn't want me to spend the night here anymore so she can check on me. Make sure I'm at least trying to sleep."

"She was going to find out eventually," Tony said honestly. Peter shrugged again.

Peter looked up and scrutinized their expressions. "Why are all of you upset?"

"We're not used to sharing our teammates and we don't like it," Natasha said simply.

Peter raised his eyebrows. "Clint spends most of his time on the farm. How is this any different?"

"We practically live at Clint's farm now," Bruce said with only a slight joking manner. He wasn't really exaggerating. The Avengers made bi-monthly excursions out to the farm and had been accepted as aunts and uncles by Clint's kids. Laura enjoyed having superheroes at her beck and call, and Natasha and Laura were as thick as thieves.

"You don't get how weird this is for us," Steve said. "We were all alone. Pepper was busy running Stark Industries and Rhodey was still with the Air Force, so Tony was bearing the brunt of the media's attention by himself. Bruce was on the run from literally everyone. Clint and Natasha were with S.H.I.E.L.D., but it was a security risk to get close to the other agents and they were always away on missions. Thor wasn't even from this world, and no one trusted him because of Loki. I had just woken up from a seventy year long nap and wished I had died in the crash instead. We didn't have anyone until we were forced to work with each other. Afterwards, we had planned to part ways, but Tony managed to bully us into moving into the Tower. And then Ultron happened, and our team grew. The only thing that stayed the same was that the new additions were just as alone as we were. So then you come along, and you're a minor. You have to go to school, you have friends, and you have May. We've never had someone so wholeheartedly torn between this life and civilian life. We're all each other has, so it's hard for us to accept that you have a life away from us."

"At least you'll have me once I graduate," Peter said. He was a senior and only a few months away from graduating.

"I'm still torn between sending you to MIT or moving you here," Tony said, completely serious.

"Isn't it my choice?"

"Theoretically."

"Tony, not now," Steve sighed. He turned back to Peter. "Just try to understand that when we're overprotective and needy, it's just because we care."

"I know," Peter said, even if he privately wished they wouldn't. Why didn't they understand how easily he could hurt them?

They fell silent after that and contented themselves by gorging on Chinese food. Peter ate about half as much as he normally did but everyone seemed to know better than to bring it up. He'd already been in the training room for the first time in weeks. They didn't feel like pushing their luck any further.

"Wanda called today," Tony said after he set his plate in the sink. "They're coming back tomorrow."

"Good. There's not enough estrogen around here," Natasha complained.

"And speaking of estrogen, Mrs. Stark is coming over for lunch tomorrow. We're heading out after that and should be back the next day," Tony said as if it were no big deal.

"Really? Where are you going?" Rhodey asked.

"Probably a second honeymoon," Sam snickered.

No one noticed how utterly still Peter had gone. Tony only left the Facility for two reasons; the world was in imminent danger, or Pepper was forcing him out. Peter desperately hoped it was the latter.

"No, nothing like that. I made a promise to a friend a few years ago that I'd go to his graduation from MIT," Tony elaborated.

"Harley," Steve said in realization. "He's graduating already?"

Tony nodded. "MIT wanted me to speak at the ceremony so Harley called me and blackmailed me into doing it. He was a handful as a kid and now he's a menace as an adult."

Peter relaxed. He had actually met Harley a few times. The Avengers called him Tony's first child and Peter his second. At first, Peter had been disappointed that he wasn't the first kid in Tony's life, but it soon became clear that Tony had a very different relationship with Harley than the one he had with Peter. If Peter and Tony were like father and son, then Tony and Harley were like brothers. They joked around far more and prided themselves upon how much they could insult the other. When they were tinkering in the labs, they would mock the other's ideas and try to outdo each other in the most flamboyant ways possible.

"You must be so proud," Natasha said teasingly.

Tony snorted. "That asshole turned down a very generous position at Stark Industries as a leading engineer. He and his buddies want to travel around Europe for a year even though they're all broke and have no experience travelling.."

"So are you giving him a credit card linked to your account?" Clint asked. All of the Avengers were financially dependent upon Tony.

"I already paid for him to go to a good high school, MIT, and to have a roof over his head," Tony grumbled. "He wants to do this on his own, though. I'm anticipating a call in about a week asking for that credit card."

"If things go bad, we can reach you in a hour tops," Steve said, ever the strategist.

"Why would they go bad?" Tony asked.

Rhodey laughed. "Tony, you have the worst luck out of everyone I know, and I know some pretty messed up people. Present company not excluded."

"Don't forget to tell Harley that we're all proud of him," Steve added. He and Harley had hit it off surprisingly well, much to Tony's irritation.

"That'll just inflate his ego even more," Tony said flatly.

"I'll try to stop by for lunch tomorrow, but May might not let me out," Peter said sadly.

"I'll have Pepper talk to May. She has a chance at convincing your aunt," Tony said, pulling out his phone.

Peter nodded gratefully and nestled back into the couch cushions. He was getting really tired, but didn't want to fall asleep when May would undoubtedly limit how much time he spent with them.

"You okay?" Bucky asked too quietly for most of them to hear. The others were busy talking about Harley's graduation.

"Fine. I just haven't had a workout in awhile," Peter said equally softly. He didn't even need to lie.

Bucky nodded and leaned back. He always knew better than to pester Peter. May and Tony did enough of that. Peter just leaned back and tried to enjoy his time with the Avengers. He seemed to sense that it would be yet another week before he could see them again, and under very different circumstances.


	7. Chapter 7

Harley was the smugest kid Tony had ever met. Not only had Harley graduated at the top of his class in engineering, he had to rub it in Tony's face that a newspaper that had done an article on MIT's best and brightest had dubbed him the next Tony Stark. Furthermore, Harley and his friends had come up with some clever ways to save money and were all set to travel around Europe in a week. Without Tony's money, Harley was sure to add.

Tony knew Harley was beyond grateful for all he'd done for him. Admittedly, he had rarely seen the kid for the first few years after they met, but Tony had always made sure that he was safe, fed, clothed, and had set up a trust fund for him. He couldn't do anything when Harley's mom started drinking hard when Harley was in high school except for take him over to the Facility and let him invent his latest design and thus distract him from his problems for a few hours. Harley was stubbornly independent and he had been trying to make his own way in the world without Tony's help in the last few years and he was finally succeeding. Tony was beyond proud of him, even if he was too stuck up to say it. Tony would miss looking out for the kid.

"What are you going to do until your flight?" Pepper asked. She'd initially been upset earlier because May wouldn't let Peter join them for lunch, but chatting with Harley cheered her up.

"Pack up my things and say goodbye to some friends. Nothing much," Harley said casually.

After Tony's rather witty speech and Harley had officially graduated, Tony, Pepper, and Harley went to a fancy restaurant to celebrate. Tony had rented the place out entirely so they wouldn't have to deal with awestruck people snapping pictures of him the whole time. Harley didn't want that kind of attention, as evident by how he had refused to be mentioned in Tony's speech.

"Do you still have that gauntlet I gave you?" Tony asked.

Harley rolled his eyes. He held up his wrist, displaying the watch that would fold out into the equivalent of an Iron Man repulsor. "Of course. You only gave it to me a month ago. Don't tell me it's already outdated."

"I didn't ask because I wanted to upgrade it. I just want to make sure you have something that to protect yourself. You're a magnet for trouble," Tony said wryly.

"Haven't worked out the kinks in the nanotech yet, have you?" Harley asked.

He shrugged. "I haven't had anyone to help me. You've been busy with graduation and your trip, Bruce has been working with Helen, and Peter-"

"Is Peter alright?" Harley interrupted, wide-eyed.

Pepper looked over at Tony shrewdly. "You didn't tell him?"

Tony waited for the servers to set down their plates, refill their glasses, and return to the kitchen before answering. "Peter's not hurt or anything like that. Actually, he's sort of on break from being Spider-Man."

"On break? Why? What happened?" Harley asked anxiously. He considered Peter as a sort of little brother as they were both geniuses taken in by Tony. Both Tony and Pepper loved how close the boys were after only a few meetings.

"There was a mission a few weeks ago. You might have seen it on the news. We were wrecking another HYDRA base, but I got careless. It was an accident, but Peter ended up killing someone to save me. He's been messed up ever since," Tony said quietly, his fist clenched tightly. Pepper rested her hand on his knee.

"Shit," Harley said softly. "How's he been dealing?"

Tony shrugged. "Not well. I'm sure you saw that he helped stop some terrorists at his school. He was getting better, but I'm afraid that all of the attention he's receiving is going to set him back again."

"And how have you been?" Harley asked.

Tony looked at him in confusion. "Me? I'm fine."

"I meant how are you handling not having your kid around?" Harley corrected.

"Harley, he's not my son or anything," Tony said.

"He might as well be. Tony, I'm not offended. I never saw you as a replacement father. Peter does. Just answer the question," Harley said, smirking.

"I've just been doing damage control from the New York terrorist attack and trying to keep busy. I've barely seen him since it happened," Tony said. "I haven't had any panic attacks or anything like that. We definitely met at the lowest point in my life."

"And you met Peter at your most desperate. I sense a theme," Pepper added.

"You're my wife. Aren't you supposed to side with me?" Tony demanded.

"Only when I feel like it," she teased.

"So what are you going to do about Peter?" Harley asked.

"There's nothing anyone can do in particular. You know that. You've spent enough time around me," Tony said quietly. "I just do whatever I can."

"You sound like a sleep deprived dad," Harley said with a grin.

"He kind of is," Pepper said.

Tony couldn't even deny it.

* * *

Flash was trying hard to speak to Peter alone. During class, the teachers kept him from talking to Peter. MJ's death glares protected him at lunch and at decathlon practice since she was perceptive enough to realize what Flash was trying to do. Whenever he heard Flash enter the hallway, Peter quickly went the other way, which resulted in many scoldings from his teachers for leaving his books in his locker and running in the halls. Peter didn't know why Flash wanted to talk to him and he didn't feel like finding out. He suspected it had something to do with his work with the Web-Shooters, and he really didn't feel like repeating his alibi again.

Unfortunately, Midtown wasn't that big of a school. While waiting for the bus after school, Flash shoved his way through the crowd of students to Peter's side.

"I'm not in the mod," Peter said before Flash even had a chance to speak. Flash had been a minor nuisance when they were younger, but he had gotten nastier over the years. Peter didn't have any patience for him anymore.

"Five minutes is all I need," Flash hurried to say.

"My bus comes in three."

"Then I'll be quick," Flash said, pulling out his phone. "It turns out that a friend of mine was filming during the lockdown. Do you want to see?"

Peter didn't bother answer. It was clear that Flash would show him no matter his response. He needed to prove that he had leverage.

The video wasn't grainy. It was obvious who everyone was in the video, and the setting. The camera was trained on the door and the only person in the shot was Peter, so he deduced that this was taken just after he had ordered everyone to go to the back of the room. His suspicions were confirmed as he saw the door swing open and Natasha spot him instantly. Flash didn't bother turn on the volume. They both knew what Natasha and Peter were saying in the video.

"I know what happened, Flash. I was _there_ ," Peter said in irritation, even if he was panicking internally.

"I don't buy your story. There's no way the Black Widow would have a nickname for an intern," Flash said flatly. "It took me awhile to figure out what she called you. Pauk. It means spider in Russian."

"I created the Web-Shooters and fixed her Widow Stings. Of course she calls me spider," Peter said coolly. "I've been Mr. Stark's intern for years now. I've run into the Avengers a lot in that time."

"Enough to be friendly with the Black Widow apparently. So if this is as unimportant as you seem to think, you wouldn't mind if I put this video online, would you?" Flash asked, his finger hovering over the send button.

Peter knew that he wasn't bluffing. Flash would gladly put the video online if it meant forcing Peter to admit that he's Spider-Man. He didn't know what he could do. Maybe if Flash did post it, nobody would jump to conclusions like he did. Maybe if Peter acted like it was no big deal, he could make Flash doubt himself.

"Do whatever you want," Peter said nonchalantly. Flash's eyes widened. "It's just a video."

The bus pulled up. Peter gave Flash a mocking grin before climbing aboard. He sat down in the back row and slipped his headphones on. Flash was still standing there as the bus drove away, his phone gripped tightly in his hand.

* * *

" _It's been three weeks since New York's own superhero, Spider-Man, has been spotted. Sources confirm that Spider-Man has also been absent from missions with the Avengers in recent weeks. We reached out to the Avengers to get an update on their newest recruit, but they refused to answer any questions concerning his whereabouts. The police department released the crime rate for the last month and one can clearly see that the rise correlates to Spider-Man's absence. No one knows why Spider-Man hasn't been patrolling and he has shown no sign that he's even coming back. On a related note, a student at Midtown School of Science and Technology sent us a video of the lockdown earlier this week. This student, who wishes to remain anonymous, was in the same class as Peter Parker, the Stark Industries intern who helped apprehend the terrorists,"_ the news anchor said.

Peter's head snapped up. Sure enough, the footage Flash had shown him earlier was playing on the TV. Flash had wasted no time in following through on his promise.

Peter winced as the phone rang. Was it possible that someone else had already see, that clip?

"Hello?" Peter said as he muted the TV.

"Peter, what exactly am I looking at on the news?" Tony asked icily. Apparently it was possible.

Peter sighed. "I know this will be hard to cover up, but this is my problem, not yours. You don't have to worry about this."

"Kid, your problems are my problems. It's going to be hard to refute this," Tony said, sounding exhausted.

"It's fine. No one thinks Spider-Man is a teenager. Besides, the kid who did this, Flash, no one listens to him. Most people think he's kind of crazy," Peter explained.

"You're handling this remarkably well. Why is that?" Tony demanded.

"No point in worrying. I'll just probably have to tag along to more Stark Industries stuff to show that I'm an intern or something stupid like that." Peter realized that he had been pacing and quickly sat down.

"I can arrange that. I just wish that Nat hadn't called you pauk. That complicates everything," Tony said. Judging by the faint sounds of metal in the background, Tony was working in the labs. "Are you sure you'd want to do that, though? You've been dead set on staying out of the spotlight for years."

"I know, but it would be Peter in the spotlight, not Spider-Man. There won't be any pressure to protect my identity. I can handle this," he said as confidently as possible. Even that came out sounding slightly unsure.

"I'll talk to Pepper about arranging something. She's better at this sort of thing than I am. I need to go. I'm working with some sensitive equipment right now. I'll talk to you later, okay?" Tony said.

"Yeah. Bye," Peter said. Tony hung up.

Peter groaned and slumped down low on the couch. Stupid. He was so stupid. He should have gone out to the soccer field with the rest of his classmates during the lockdown instead of joining Clint and Natasha. That would have saved him a lot of trouble. Flash wouldn't be pestering him and that video wouldn't be on the news. He wouldn't of needed Tony to bargain with the principal to let him keep his Web-Shooters on at school. People wouldn't stare at him as he walked down the halls. The Avengers wouldn't watch him discreetly as if he were seconds away from a complete mental breakdown.

Actually, that last one could be traced back to the agent he had killed in the HYDRA base. His life had irreversibly changed when that happened. That was why his suit was lying forgotten in the bottom of his closet. Could he even claim to be a superhero anymore? Superheroes were supposed to be out there saving lives. Instead, Peter was caged in by the nightmares in his head. Maybe he didn't deserve to call himself Spider-Man anymore.

Peter set down his phone on the coffee table and slowly, almost as if he were sleepwalking, walked into his bedroom. There used to be cartridges of webs and scraps of wires lying all over his desk and floor, but three weeks ago he had tossed it all into a box and shoved it in his closet. A week ago, his suit had joined them. He had done it on pure impulse and avoided them like the plague ever since, but he inexplicably had the urge to open up that box.

His breaths were coming quicker than usual, but Peter couldn't stop now. He pushed his hanging clothes aside and moved his hamper, revealing the box. He pulled it out to the center of his room and tossed the lid aside. His mask stared back at him with unblinking eyes.

Peter pulled it out robotically, his actions barely processing in his overwhelmed brain. He felt so distant from his body, just like when he'd woken up in the Facility after attacking the HYDRA base. He felt like he was watching a play unfold before him, not like he was actually doing this.

Peter shrugged off his clothes and stepped into his suit, the familiar feel of it hardly irritating his hypersensitive skin. Karen, for whatever reason, stayed silent. His breath hitched a bit as he noticed the bright red gloves adorning his hands. All he saw was an even brighter red liquid that had once covered them. He never asked Tony if he'd cleaned the gloves up or changed them entirely. He wasn't sure if that would even make a difference to his conscious. He must have stood there staring at his hands for at least five minutes before he was able to tear his eyes away. Even then, he still could have sworn that he felt phantom blood on his hands.

The mask seemed to be judging him. He'd once fearlessly worn it as he swung across the city, but now the mere sight of it induced flashbacks to the "accident" as the Avengers had taken to calling it. It wasn't quite an accident, though. Peter had intentionally tackled that agent. He wasn't careful about it and he never considered snatching the gun the gun away like he normally did. In his panic to save Tony, he had forgotten all of his basic training and fought like a cornered animal. The mask didn't need to judge him. He hated himself enough without its opinion.

It was stupid, really. Putting on the mask wouldn't change anything. That man would still be dead and Peter would still be a living disaster, yet he couldn't help but feel like he was standing on the edge of a cliff and his next decision would change his life. He didn't want to make the wrong choice.

May would be home soon. He had to choose fast. Once she came home, Peter knew he would take off the suit and it would lie forgotten in his closet again. That though disappointed him far more than he thought it would. He had chosen to put his powers to good use years ago. He was a coward for even considering giving up the mantle he had assumed.

He knew what he had to do.

Peter held his breath as he slipped the mask on. He wasn't quite sure why he did that, but it helped him keep from panicking as the familiar displays lit up in front of his eyes. For the first time in weeks, he had complete relief as his suit adjusted to accommodate his enhanced senses. The lights weren't glaring, the sounds were muted, and the stink of chemicals and food couldn't reach him.

Peter slid open his bedroom window and perched on the ledge, careful to keep his body in the shadows so that the people down below couldn't see him.

"Where to, Peter?" Karen asked.

"Anywhere."

* * *

Tony was bored. He'd already seen the movie that all of the other Avengers were currently watching so he had planted himself at the dining room table and began tinkering. He wanted to at least have a working prototype of nanotechnology before the next Stark Industries expo. He had hoped Peter would be able to help him with it, but that wouldn't be happening anytime soon.

Halfway through the movie, Tony checked his phone and, out of habit, checked Peter's suit tracker. He nearly dropped it in surprise when he saw that Peter's suit was moving rapidly through Queens instead of sitting abandoned in his hamper.

Pepper sauntered over to him, two glasses of wine in her hands. She handed him one as she took her seat beside him. He knew he should put down his phone and pay attention to his wife, but he couldn't tear his eyes away from the screen.

"What is it?" Pepper asked, somewhere between resignation and amusement. She was used to this side of Tony.

"Peter's patrolling," he said quietly and hoped the loud noise from the TV would mask his words from the super soldiers' superior hearing.

"Do you think he's doing it because of that news segment?" Pepper asked calmly.

"Maybe. That probably triggered it. I'm just glad that he's at least trying this out again. I was worried that he'd never put it back on."

Pepper grinned. "Harley's right. You do sound like an exhausted father."

"Thanks, honey," Tony said dryly. "So have you made any progress with sticking Peter into our calendar?"

"Actually, yes. We have an upcoming gala and I think it's the logical choice to have an intern at. I already cross referenced it with Peter's schedule and he should be able to make it," Pepper said, scrolling through her phone to show him what she had laid out in only an hour.

"What would I do without you?" Tony asked and kissed her cheek.

"You'd probably be dead," Pepper said matter-of-factly.

"That's true," Tony admitted.

Clint paused the movie and turned around. "What's all this whispering about? Stark, it's bad enough that you were already building shit over there instead of watching the movie like a normal person."

"Peter's patrolling," Tony said simply, still watching the tracker avidly.

Their reactions were comical. Some of the Avengers who were closer to Peter began asking questions at an astonishing speed. The others gaped at Tony as if he'd grown a third head. They certainly were a dramatic lot. That's probably why they got along so well.

"No, I don't know what changed his mind," Tony insisted. "I don't know anything. Call the kid later if you're still curious."

"You must have some ideas," Steve said.

"Yeah, dozens, but teenagers are unpredictable. Unless I scan his brain, I won't actually know what his motivation was," Tony said, irritation clear on his face.

"Or ask him," Bruce suggested.

"You take all of the fun out of life, Brucie."

Tony's phone rang. He stood up and walked into the kitchen to keep most of them from overhearing his conversation. After all, whatever Peter had to say right now was probably much more important than Bruce's sass.

"Hey, kid. How are you doing?" Tony asked, trying to keep his voice neutral in case Peter was upset.

"Really good, actually," Peter said breathlessly. He had been swinging around for awhile now. "You were watching my tracker, weren't you?"

"Yes," Tony admitted. "Is the suit working good?"

"Yeah. I haven't tried out those modifications that you added yet, so don't ask me for specifics. I was wondering if I could join your training sessions this weekend," Peter said timidly.

"You know that you can come anytime. Are you sure, though? I don't want you to rush into this," Tony said.

"I want to at least try."

"Okay, kid. See you soon."


	8. Chapter 8

After getting permission to go to the Facility and spend the night if the need arose from May, Peter called Happy. The man arrived suspiciously fast, but Peter was too lost in his own mind to dwell on that. As much as he longed to put on his suit and forget why he'd taken it off in the first place, he couldn't. Every single night he dreamt of being in that base again. The agent always rounded that corner, gun raised. Who died varied. Sometimes the agent succeeded in killing Tony, or Peter put himself in the path of the bullet. More often than not, it ended with Peter slamming the agent into the ground and blood pooling around his broken body. He couldn't decide which version was worse.

F.R.I.D.A.Y. told him that all of the Avengers were already in the training room when he arrived, including Wanda, Vision, and Bruce. Apparently Wanda and Vision had returned from their trip to who knows where. As for why Bruce was in the training room, he had no idea. It's not like the Hulk needed to train. With the exception of Tony and Thor, no one stood a chance at stopping the Hulk.

Peter made his way down to his personal "locker" room. It had showers, water bottles, protein bars, towels, deodorant, changes of clothes, spare Web-Shooters, and whatever else he might need before and after training. It was like his high school locker room on steroids. Every Avenger had one and Tony made sure it was stocked appropriately for their needs.

Peter shrugged off his clothes and stepped into his suit, only keeping the mask off. Tony and Rhodey were the only ones who wore protective headgear when training (although one could argue that Clint and Natasha _should_ wear more protective gear considering that they were only ordinary humans). After taking a deep, steadying breath to slow down his racing heartbeat, Peter entered the training room.

Peter never knew what to expect to see in the training room. Depending on who was training and whatever contraptions Tony had rigged up to help them, the room could be dead quiet or obscenely loud. When Wanda trained, he knew he needed to focus extra hard to not grow distracted by the light of her magic. If anyone was working on their aim, he had to tune out gunfire. In short, he was expecting a lot of things to happen when he came in, but finding everyone huddled around the window as Sam and Rhodey raced in the sky was not one of them.

"Whose winning?" Peter asked as he made his way over to Tony's side.

"Rhodey. I just amped up his thrusters so I'd be pissed if he wasn't," Tony said, tearing his eyes away from the race. "How have things been at school?"

Peter grinned sheepishly and rubbed the back of his neck. "I didn't go to school yesterday. I knew everyone would be bothering me about Flash's video, so May and I just stayed home. Ned brought me my homework."

"Not the best way you could have dealt with that, but nothing Pepper can't cover up. She's a miracle. I'm horrible at dealing with the press," Tony said.

"Have you talked to her about taking me to a Stark Industries event?" Peter asked, half hoping that he'd say no. He wasn't sure how much more he could handle.

"Yeah. I was on top of things for once. There's a big charity gala we're hosting in a week. It'd make sense for my intern to be there. Sound good?"

"I guess. What would I have to do?"

"Not a clue. You know I only do what Pepper tells me to. You can ask her yourself after we're done training," Tony said as Sam and Rhodey flew back into the room.

"Pepper's here?"

All of the other Avengers drifted away from the window to either resume training or talk to Sam and Rhodey. Only Tony and Peter stayed where they were, still looking out at the Facility's grounds.

"Pepper practically runs this joint. She had to come back sometime," Tony teased.

"She's been here a few times in the last few weeks and I've missed her every time. How mad is she going to be?" Peter asked, staring out at the perfectly manicured lawns.

"Pepper will only yell at you until she notices how skinny you are. Then she'll turn all sweet and insist on getting you food while asking about everything that's happened in your life since she last saw you. Have fun," Tony said.

"You're not helping," Peter complained.

Tony gave him an exasperated look. "You don't fear Pepper enough."

"Of course I don't. She loves me," Peter said smugly.

"Enough about my wife. You're here for a reason. What did you want to train with? I can set up the cityscape if you want to start easy," Tony offered.

Peter shook his head. "If I wanted to swing around, I would have gone on patrol."

"So what do you want to do?" Tony asked.

"I want to learn to control my strength," Peter said softly.

"Peter, if this is about what happened, I'm not sure you're ready. Normally I'd be fine with you learning that, but you're not in a good state of mind."

"Maybe I'm not, but I need to learn this." Seeing that Tony was still uncertain, Peter begged, "Please, Tony."

Tony groaned. "Give me a minute to talk to the others. I'm not good at adulting."

Peter nodded gratefully. Tony let out a loud sigh and walked over to where the others were still chatting with Rhodey and Sam. Tony was careful to talk quietly, as were the others, but Peter was able to make out most of what they were saying. They all seemed concerned about Peter jumping right back into training, but Tony had agreed to it, so they had no choice but to follow his lead. Everyone had unanimously decided upon first meeting Peter that he was the equivalent of Tony's son. As such, they usually let Tony make the calls about their youngest team member.

After a few minutes, the Avengers dispersed. Most spread out throughout the room to begin training, but Natasha and Tony headed back towards Peter. He tried not to fidget as they drew closer. Not that it mattered much because both of them could read his body language and face like an open book. Everyone frequently told him that he'd be the world's worst spy.

"The jury reached a verdict," Tony said. "Romanoff is going to help you out. Are you still experiencing that sensitivity?"

Peter nodded. It hadn't faded at all.

"Do you mind training in a different room with less distractions?" Tony continued.

"Not at all," Peter said, relieved. Just listening to Tony was hard when the other Avengers were making such a racket.

"Great. Romanoff, he's all yours," Tony said, heading over to Rhodey.

Natasha smirked at him. "Hey, pauk. You're looking better.

"Thanks," Peter said softly. She had a glint in her eyes that reminded him of a spider watching a fly struggle to escape its web. It was unnerving, to say the least.

"This way," she said sharply, heading towards the north hallway.

Peter followed her silently, the weight of the Avengers gazes resting on his back. Natasha walked quickly, her scarlet locks bouncing with every step. She led him down a long hallway that he hadn't seen before and stopped in front of a plain door.

"Not a word about this room to the others," Natasha warned.

Once Peter nodded in agreement, Natasha opened the door and let him in. It was a wide room with pale blue walls mostly covered by mirrors, and the floor was covered in a black mat designed for dancing. Ballet bars were lined up against the walls.

"I didn't know you danced," Peter said carefully, fully aware that she kept her secrets for very good reasons. He had glanced over her file that she released when S.H.I.E.L.D. fell and shut it only after reading a few paragraphs. The things they had done to Natasha as a child were the very definition of cruel and unusual punishments. Whatever background she had with dancing was undoubtedly entangled with the bloody history of the Red Room.

"Only Stark and Clint know about this room. I don't like to advertise this side of me," Natasha said.

"I won't tell anyone," he promised.

She shrugged. "Ask away, pauk. I can tell that you have questions."

Peter hesitated before saying, "If you're supposed to help me control my strength, why are we in your dance studio? And why are you the one training me if you aren't enhanced?"

"Because learning to control your strength is a purely mental exercise. Rogers and Barnes may have super strength like you, but they never needed to control it and therefore are of no use to you. Ever since they gained it, they've been at war or on missions," Natasha explained.

Peter nodded, but remained worried. Natasha was remarkably resilient for a regular human, but she was still as fragile as an eggshell compared to his strength. Weren't they worried that he'd hurt her?

"Pauk, I swear to God, you're the most stressed out tiny human that I've ever met," Natasha complained. "You don't have to worry about hurting me. I'm not going to do hand to hand combat with you at any point during this. That would just give you a panic attack. Sit down. We need to talk before we start."

Natasha sat down with her legs crossed. Peter sat down across from her, trying to keep his face blank. She was already reading into him too much for his liking.

"I'm assuming you want to do this because you killed a man. Is that correct?" Natasha asked bluntly.

With anyone else, that sort of question would set him on edge, but it was actually a reassurance from Natasha. When she was trying to manipulate people into revealing more than they intend to, she emulates different personas to gain their trust and get them talking. He'd seen her at work and she never addressed her prey in such a straightforward way because that would show her hand. Her bluntness with her teammates showed her good intentions.

"Yeah, but it's not just that. I can barely keep my enhancements hidden from my friends, and I'm really not ready for anyone else to know my secret identity. I want to be in control to stop either of those from happening again," Peter explained, tapping his finger against the floor nervously.

"Valid reasons," she said. "So when you say you want to be able to control your strength, do you mean hide it from others or control it in a fight?"

"Control it in a fight," he said quickly. "That man wouldn't of died if I hadn't slammed into him so hard. I need to be able to reign in my strength."

"You have a lot of guilt for an accidental kill." Seeing how stupefied he looked, she clarified, "That's a good thing. You still have a conscious. Not everyone does after a kill."

"Did you?" He wanted to take the words back the second he said them. _No one_ talked about Natasha's past.

She didn't seem offended, though. Instead of lashing out or retreating into herself, she said, "I didn't have a conscious until I met Clint. It wasn't an acceptable size until I became an Avenger."

"So how are you going to help me if we're not going to fight?" Peter asked after a brief silence.

"I have ideas, though I'm going to need Stark's help to rig it up. We can't start anything today. I want to teach you something else that you'll need as long as your sensitivity continues."

"What's that?"

"Sign language."

* * *

An hour later, F.R.I.D.A.Y. interrupted their session to say that the rest of the Avengers had headed upstairs to get lunch. Simce Natasha had burned off a lot of calories training earlier and Peter was still barely eating, Natasha decided that they should join their team.

None of the other Avengers knew what Natasha had planned for her time with Peter, so they didn't know what to expect for when the two arrived. Most pictured them sweaty and frustrated from fighting, maybe a dimness in Peter's eyes. That's why they were all pleasantly surprised when the elevator doors slid open, revealing the two laughing as Natasha clumsily corrected Peter's finger positioning.

"No, it needs to point up more," Natasha said, trying to stop laughing long enough to help him.

"What, like this?" Peter asked, trying to copy what she was doing.

"Only do that if you want to get punched, kid," Clint called out. "Tasha, you're an appalling teacher."

Natasha merely flipped him off on her way over to the boxes of pizza stacked on the dining room table that Peter had never seen them actually sit down and eat at. He began to follow her until he noticed a certain blonde sitting next to Tony.

Peter slipped off his headphones and all but ran over to Pepper. She set her wine down and stood up just in time for Peter to nearly topple her with the force of his hug.

"How touching," Tony said with an eye roll as his wife and near-son hugged. "Why aren't either of you ever that excited to see me?"

"Peter's cuter than you," Pepper informed him.

"And Pepper's nicer than you," Peter quipped.

The two drew apart and Pepper ruffled his curls affectionately. She quickly looked him up and down to make sure that he was alright. Peter knew Tony kept her updated on his situation.

"It's good to see you again, sweetie," Pepper said, her gaze warm. "Though it looks like I'll be seeing more off you now that you'll actually have to act like an intern."

"Yeah. Have you chosen anything yet?" Peter asked, raking a hand through his hair.

"There's a charity ball in a week. You would just need to wear a suit, have your picture taken, maybe take an interview or two, and then follow Tony and I around for the rest of the night. Easy enough?" Pepper asked.

"Sounds perfect. I won't have to miss any school, will I?"

"None at all. I already talked to May about this and she's fine with it," she assured him. "Now go get some food. Don't think I didn't notice that you lost weight."

Peter nodded and went over to the pizza. He only wanted to grab two slices but since they'd seen him consume whole pizzas before, he settled for three. The scolding he would get if he didn't wasn't worth it. Peter nestled in between Pepper and Tony on the couch.

"So what's up with the sign language?" Tony asked.

"If he's going to wear his headphones everywhere, we need to be able to communicate with him," Natasha replied.

"How'd he do?" Steve asked, clearly worried about Peter's mental state.

Natasha smiled at her little spider. "He did good."


	9. Chapter 9

It seemed like Peter was always at the Facility to its inhabitants. In an effort to show that Peter was Tony's intern and direct attention away from his use of the Web-Shooters, Peter had to tag along with Tony and Pepper to board meetings, expos, and the like. The charity ball was delayed due to a conflict in Tony's schedule so Peter was forced to attend more Stark Industries events to make up for it. The trickiest part of it all was making sure that the right kind of press was getting pictures of Peter.

Whenever Peter wasn't in school or away with Tony and Pepper, he was training at the Facility with Natasha. She had Tony create a punching bag that measured how hard Peter hit it and what that force would do to a regular human. Peter was slowly learning the limits of human durability and while that seemed morbid to most of them, it did seem to be helping Peter. He felt more secure in his own body now that he understood his own strength. It was a relief for everyone to see him relax.

Naturally, all good things had to come to an end.

Fridays had always been Peter's favorite day of the school week since it meant that the week was over and he was free to do what he wanted to again. MJ had cancelled decathlon practice after school since too many people were going to miss it, which meant that Peter had even more free time on his hands. He had planned to spend the evening with May to make up for barely spending time with her all week, but those plans quickly evaporated after fourth period.

Fourth period was P.E. May had initially written him excuses so he wouldn't have to participate after the accident, but after a few days he had to join the class again since he couldn't procure a doctor's note with a reasonable excuse as to why he should miss more class. Peter hated P.E. because it was the class he had to be the most cautious in, Natasha's training aside. The only redeeming factor was that MJ and Ned were also in his class.

It wasn't _during_ P.E. that everything went to shit, like one would expect. No, class ended without a hitch and Peter changed back into his street clothes easily. He lingered outside the doors to the gym where he, Ned, and MJ always met up before heading off to their next class. Ned and Peter waited patiently for five minutes before getting worried.

"I'm going to go find her. Go ahead and go to class if we take too long," Peter said, already heading in the direction of the girl's locker room.

"Peter!" A girl from his P.E. class shouted out. He half turned around to face her, an impatient look on his face. "Are you looking for Michelle?"

"Yeah. Have you seen her?" Peter asked, stopping in his tracks.

"Some boy pulled her over that way. I've been trying to find you to tell you," she said in exasperation, as if he had let her down.

Peter rolled his eyes. Judging by how she was only a few yards away from the girl's locker room, she hadn't tried that hard to find him. Peter went in the direction she pointed nonetheless. She had no reason to lie about what happened to MJ.

It didn't take long to find her. It was that same boy she said had been bothering her and some of his friends who had pulled her aside. All of them were at least a head taller than Peter, not that their height made a difference. Peter would still be able to knock them out in seconds if he wanted to. Even if it seemed inevitable, Peter wanted to avoid a fight.

The three boys had circled around MJ so that she couldn't leave and were spewing lewd crap at her. MJ was trying her best to look bored, but Peter knew her well enough to tell that she was actually terrified. The normally observant girl was so focused on the boys that she didn't even notice Peter enter the room.

"Get away from her," Peter said quietly, standing in the doorway. MJ's head snapped up and a faint grin tugged at her lips.

"Get out of here, Parker. We're just talking," the boy who was terrorizing MJ sneered, pushing her further behind him so that Peter couldn't reach her. Peter's hands curled into fists. He hated bullies.

"I don't care what you were doing. Just back away. MJ and I are leaving," he said, stepping forward.

"No. We're not done talking," the boy snapped, shoving his friends aside to get closer to Peter. "You can't just barge in here and start saying shit."

"Move," Peter said simply. He didn't want to fight, but any idiot could see that the boy was getting ready to punch.

He quickly assessed his options. He had the Web-Shooters clipped on his wrists, but if he used them to fight another student, the principal would revoke his permission to wear them on campus. Not to mention that using the Web-Shooters on a kid was beyond extreme. That left dodging and blocking.

The boy - Peter wished he knew his name - punched. It was a clumsy swing that Peter easily side stepped. Honestly, the hardest part of fighting as a civilian was not moving too fast. That would draw suspicion and there was enough of that on him already after the terrorist incident. Peter tried to think of a way to get MJ out of the room or end the fight peacefully, but he came up empty. He didn't know what to do.

Seeing that their friend had yet to land a single blow on Peter, the other two boys joined the fight. Peter started moving faster, ducking and lunging until everything was a blur of fists and the yellow light streaming in through the windows. Now was when everything went wrong.

The first boy managed to get his fist inches from the side of Peter's head so he had no choice but to block his arm. Peter felt the boy's arm fly back against the force of his own. He thought nothing of it until the boy screamed. Peter looked at him in confusion. The boy's arm was broken cleanly in two from the strength of Peter's parry. Peter froze, bewildered and frightened by what he'd just done, giving the other boys time to punch Peter right on the nose. Peter felt the bones in his nose give way to the boy's fist and blood gushed down onto his lips.

"In there," MJ said, running into the room with a few teachers and the campus security guard following her. Peter thought quickly and decided to let the other boy land his blow. All of the adults looked horrified as they watched Peter fall to the ground.

The teachers and guard tackled the boys and dragged them away to talk to the principal. The boy with the broken arm was taken in a different direction. Peter let Mr. Anderson take MJ away to find out how the fight started. The remaining teacher checked to make sure Peter could walk before taking him to the nurse's office.

Peter was panicking. He could already feel his body trying to heal his wounds and he didn't know how he'd explain away his healing factor to the school nurse. Peter only came up with one viable option; he set his own broken nose. More blood came gushing out and a brief flicker of pain made him grunt. He was cleaning up his face with a washcloth as the nurse came in.

"Did you set it yourself?" She asked, vaguely horrified.

"I took a first aid training course over summer," Peter lied. "Can I call my guardians? They'll want to hear about this from me."

She hesitated. "Are you hurt anywhere else?"

"No, it was just my nose," he lied again.

She sighed. "Go ahead."

Peter yanked his phone out of his pocket and with trembling fingers called Tony. May would just freak out and wouldn't be able to pick him up from school because she had work. Tony could send Happy, though. It seemed like Happy was never more than five minutes away from Peter's location. Peter was fairly certain that Happy's proximity was intentional, but Tony would deny that until he was blue in the face.

Tony picked up on the third ring. "What is it, Spider-kid? Shouldn't you be in class?"

"Can you send someone to come pick me up?" Peter asked, his voice funny sounding due to his still healing nose.

"Sure. Are you playing hooky or is there actually a reason for this?" Tony asked, no judgement in his voice. Tony firmly believed in mental health days, especially considering Peter's current mental state.

"Um, well, my nose is broken," Peter began to say.

"What? What happened? Were you attacked?" Tony demanded, panicking hard. Peter could hear an odd cacophony of metal, meaning Tony had dropped or knocked over a project he was working on. Peter hoped that it wasn't broken.

"Not exactly. Can I explain later? I'm in pain," Peter said, resting his head against the wall.

"I'll be there in five minutes," Tony promised and promptly hung up.

Peter sighed. He should have known something like this would happen. His luck never seemed to hold for long.

* * *

Tony was there in three minutes. Within five minutes of their phone call, Peter was signed out of school and Tony had convinced the principal that Peter needed medical attention (even though his nose was clearly healed by then), and agreed that Peter and a guardian would discuss the fight and any additional punishments beyond his suspension after school on Monday. Within six minutes, Tony set the car on auto pilot and the two were speeding away from Midtown.

"I'm glad May made me become your emergency contact otherwise that would have taken a lot longer," Tony said, trying to gauge what whirlwind of emotions was currently consuming his pseudo son. "So what happened? How'd you get in a fight?"

Peter stared down at his hands. While more blood may not have been added to them today, they had still betrayed him. He'd broken that boy's arm just by _blocking_ it.

"Peter," Tony said gently. Peter looked up reluctantly. "Tell me what happened."

Peter swallowed. "I told you about how there was this boy bothering MJ, right? Today they cornered her, so I tried to get her away from them, but they started swinging. MJ ran out and got some teachers but they just kept coming."

"Wait, did you let them beat you up or did you fight back?" Tony asked. He knew Peter could have effortlessly dodged anything a teenage boy could do. Peter wasn't an Avenger just because everyone liked him.

"I mostly dodged, but I had to block one of their punches. I think I broke his arm," Peter said so softly that Tony had trouble hearing him over the typical city clamor outside.

"Didn't MJ tell the adults what happened? You were acting in self defense. How is that grounds for suspension?" Tony asked, confused.

"Tony, I _broke_ another student's arm. That goes beyond self defense. Besides, Midtown has a strict no fighting policy. All involved parties are punished," Peter said miserably, staring back down at his lap, unable to bear Tony's earnest gaze.

"Screw that. I'll call the school and have this cleared up in a few minutes," Tony said, reaching for his phone.

"No, you can't. Tony, that's not how the real world works. You can't just make a phone call and solve all of my problems," Peter groaned. "I broke his arm."

"Is that what this is about? I can cover his medical bill if your conscious is haunting you. Personally, it seems like he had it coming. No one corners a girl with good intentions."

"Stop that!" Peter shouted, his fists clenched. "Stop doing that. You can't just clean up all of my mistakes with your money and connections!"

"Since when? Why are you suddenly so insistent that there's nothing I can do?" Tony demanded, bewildered. Peter always let him help out before whenever he got into a tough situation. Why was this any different? "F.R.I.D.A.Y., pull over."

The car swerved into the nearest available spot at an alarming speed. Peter looked up at Tony as if he'd gone mad.

"Why are we stopped?" Peter asked.

"Tell me what's bothering you."

"Nothing. Can we please just go back to the Facility?" Peter begged.

"No. We're not going anywhere until you tell me what's wrong. And don't give me any of that evasive bullshit Romanoff's been teaching you. This car isn't moving until you talk to me."

Peter groaned and tossed his head back against the chair. Tony noticed that the kid was still pale and dark circles were still prominent under his eyes. Maybe Peter wasn't doing as good as he wanted everyone to believe.

"Come on, kid. It's just me. Nothing you say will ever drive me away," Tony said softly.

"My nightmares are coming back," Peter mumbled after a tense silence. He didn't quite know why he said that instead of something about the fight, but it felt right somehow.

"I know. May called me this morning," Tony said calmly, glad that Peter hadn't shut him out completely.

"They're different. It used to be about the accident, but it's not anymore. Now it's always me hurting you, or the Avengers, or May, or even my friends. So today, when I broke his arm just by blocking it, I proved that my nightmares aren't just some crazy idea my sleep deprived brain made. It can happen. What's the point of having super powers if I'm just as likely to hurt my enemies as my friends?" Peter asked, frustrated nearly to the brink of crying.

"Peter, you're not going to hurt anyone. You were acting in self defense today," Tony insisted.

"You don't understand how breakable humans are," Peter said bitterly, refusing to look at Tony.

"You want to bet? As if I'm not a dangerous person to be around? My house was bombed because I was dumb enough to announce my address on TV. Pepper was nearly killed, but before that, I nearly set my Iron Man suit on her _in my sleep_. Do you know how many times Happy has been hurt protecting me, even before I became Iron Man? So yeah, kid. Humans are breakable. I'm just a human, and you could probably kill me faster than I could even react, but you won't. You don't hurt people."

"But I could. Not on purpose, but that's almost worse."

"You won't."

"But I could," Peter repeated, still not looking up at his hero.

"You won't," Tony said calmly. "At the base and today at school, you were fighting to protect people. You saved my life, and you got your friend out of a bad situation. You're only focusing on what you did wrong, though. You're not some out of control monster. I should know. My friend happens to be one."

"Why can't you just admit that I'm dangerous?" Peter demanded, finally looking up. His eyes blazed with anger yet Tony could see tears.

"You are dangerous, but not as dangerous as you seem to think. You're a kid with superpowers. That's not supposed to be easy. That's why you joined the Avengers. You fit right in," Tony said, and reached out to grip Peter's shoulder.

Peter lurched back. "Don't."

"Why not? Are you seriously still worried that your strength is out of control?" Tony asked incredulously. "Accidents happen. It was a fluke."

"Accidents are a one time thing. This has happened twice now."

"Twice? You've only killed one person, which is astounding considering our line of work isn't exactly peaceful. Today was an accident. You weren't trying to hurt him."

"So? He's going to be in a cast for weeks," Peter said. He began trembling. "I broke his arm without even trying."

"It was self defense," Tony repeated.

"Was it? If I had let him hit me, I would have been a bit disorientated at most. Instead, he might have pain in his arm for the rest of his life because of me," Peter rambled, still shaking. "What was the point of all those hours in the training room if they don't pay off? Why did I even bother try? I should have known something like this would happen."

Peter was starting to really scare Tony. He'd seen Peter's hands tremble before, but never his whole body. Peter didn't even seem to be talking to him anymore, just letting his guilt spill out randomly.

"Breathe, kid. Head between your knees," Tony advised.

Peter blindly listened. Tony was glad that Peter trusted him completely at times like this, even if it was equally terrifying to suddenly have a kid. Peter tried to take deep breaths, but they sounded more like gasps. Even more worrisome was that his tremors continued. Tony wished that he could hug Peter, but that would probably further his panic attack.

"It's not your fault that they decided to pick a fight with you today," Tony said quietly. "You just have bad luck, like the rest of us. You did your best, and that's all that matters. You don't have to think of today as a screw up."

Peter's breaths were evening out, but he was still shaking hard. Tony decided to keep talking.

"You're going to screw up a lot because you're only human. That doesn't mean that you're failing, it means that you're learning. I know it doesn't seem like it now, but all of the crappy stuff that's happened to you in the last few weeks is going to help you in the long run. It sucks now, but you're going to be okay," Tony said, not entirely sure where these words were coming from or even if they made any sense whatsoever. They seemed to help Peter calm down, and that was all that really mattered.

"But I'm dangerous," Peter whispered, not lifting his head from between his knees.

Tony shrugged. "Everyone's dangerous in one way or another. It doesn't mean that you're a bad guy."

"Don't my powers scare you at all?"

"Of course they do. Your powers are insane. You have abilities that no single person should possess. But you're not very scary, Peter. Even if you think that you're dangerous, you should know that I've only ever been scared of what your powers could do to _you_ , not to anyone else. You were given a lot of responsibility far younger than you deserve. I'm only worried about what your powers do to you," Tony said honestly.

Peter let out a choked laugh and flung himself at Tony. Both of them recalled how only two years ago Peter had mistaken Tony opening the door for a hug and were beyond grateful that something like that would never happen again.

"Thank you," Peter whispered.

Tony merely held him tighter.


	10. Chapter 10

"Boys, you have to get moving eventually," Pepper sighed as the rest of the Avengers looked on in amusement.

Peter looked up at her with his big eyes. His head was resting on Tony's lap, he was on his phone, and his long legs were sprawled out along the length of the couch. Tony tossed his head back and smirked at her. Pepper groaned. Why did they have to be so cute?

"But I need to rest," Peter whined.

"And I'm assisting," Tony added, still smirking.

It was true that Peter was supposed to be taking it easy since he had woken up screaming three times last night. Tony hadn't gotten any sleep so he could rush over to Peter's room whenever he needed help. Tony had yet to perfect a sleeping pill that would work on Peter so the kid had to take cat naps to regain his energy.

"The gala was already moved back once, we can't push it back again," Pepper said. "And after this, you won't have to show up to any more of these events. Don't you want to get this over with?"

"Yeah, but that involves movement," Peter said while texting his friend.

MJ still felt bad about yesterday's events even though Peter had assured her that he made a full recovery. When she called him frantically last night, he admitted that he was Spider-Man. She said that he was an asshole for telling her over the phone in response.

"It's a lost cause, Pep," Natasha quipped as she destroyed Sam and Clint in Mario Kart. "They won't budge until you start threatening violence."

"I could skip right to that stage," Pepper muttered.

"Honey, the gala doesn't start for another two hours. Why do we have to get ready now?" Tony asked.

"Because we have to show up early for the press to get pictures of Peter. Besides, we're the ones hosting this gala. People would be offended if we weren't there to greet them. Can you please get up already?" Pepper begged.

The boys let out identical groans before getting up reluctantly. Peter yawned and rumpled his already messy curls, prompting Natasha to coo teasingly at him as if he were a baby waking up from a nap. He signed something at her that made her and Clint laugh. Peter wandered over to the elevator groggily. He must have been close to falling asleep again.

"I'm not sure that I like that only the three of you are able to communicate that way," Tony said to Natasha and Clint.

"Four," Bucky corrected. "I know sign language, too."

"That doesn't help, Barnes," Tony said.

"Last chance. Anyone else want to tag along?" Pepper asked.

"We have a mission in the morning," Steve said, gesturing to himself, Sam, and Bucky. "Otherwise I'd come and drag them with. Sorry."

"It's fine, Rogers. You're bad at socializing anyways," Tony replied. Steve snorted but didn't deny it.

"We should stay out of the public eye for a while longer," Wanda said, speaking for herself and Vision. Since she had used to work for HYDRA and part of Vision's programming was Ultron, many distrusted them.

"Bruce and I have plans," Natasha said as Sam and Clint threw down their controllers in disgust. She had beat them for the fifth time in a row effortlessly.

No one was brave enough to ask what those plans were, so Clint said, "Laura would kill me if I went without her."

"I still can't believe that Barton was the first one to settle down," Tony teased.

Pepper whacked his shoulder. "Go change or I take Peter by myself."

Tony rolled his eyes but obeyed. He didn't feel like being on the receiving end of Pepper's wrath.

* * *

An hour later, the three of them pulled up in front of the gala. Reporters and cameramen were already staked out front. They were avidly photographing the arrivals, and even began photographing the Stark's limo. The Starks decided to wait a few more minutes before getting out to warn Peter yet again about what to expect.

"After we get through the doors, your job will basically be done. A few people might want to speak to you, but most of the attention will be on Tony and me," Pepper explained. "They're going to want lots of pictures, but it's the questions that are the problem. They're going to want to know about the Web-Shooters and how Tony hired you. Stick to the story you've been saying. Consistency is key. And if they ask about how close you are to the Avengers, be as vague as possible."

"What do I do if they ask if I'm wearing the Web-Shooters now?" Peter asked, tense. He was light years away from his comfort zone.

"Be honest and show them," Tony said.

"You're wearing them right now?" Pepper asked, exasperated.

"I always have them on," Peter said defensively. "Actually, I have the whole suit on underneath. Is that a problem? Tony has his wristwatch repulsor on and can summon his suit in seconds."

"Thanks for bringing that up," Tony said dryly.

"Fine, keep it on. Show them if they ask. Just don't use them, alright?" Pepper asked. Peter nodded. "Okay. Good. Tony and I will stay with you the whole time. Are you ready?"

Peter took a deep breath. "I guess so."

Tony laughed. "That's the spirit. Don't worry, it will be over before you know it."

Happy opened the door and helped Pepper out. Every camera in vicinity swerved to take pictures of the CEO of Stark Industries. The flashes hurt Peter's eyes, but Tony had let him wear his special sunglasses so it didn't bother him too much. The noise was a different matter entirely. Headphones would be too conspicuous, so he was forced to endure the cacophony.

Tony came out behind his wife and the noise increased drastically. Tony had been so busy with the Avengers that he hadn't shown up to many events like this in recent months. Every reporter was dying to get an interview with him while they had the chance.

Peter gritted his teeth and climbed out. He felt dizzy immediately, but Tony grasped his shoulder and guided him forward. Pepper was the picture of grace and beauty, but it was obvious that Tony and Peter would rather be anywhere else. Peter bet the Avengers were watching this on TV and laughing their heads off.

"Tony Stark and his wife, Pepper, the CEO of Stark Industries, just arrived at their gala. With the iconic couple is Tony Stark's intern, Peter Parker, the teenager who helped the Avengers subdue terrorists at his school. Parker has been seen tagging along with the couple at many events since the attack, so it's no surprise that he's here tonight," a male news anchor rattled off as Pepper and Tony began posing for photos. Peter hung back with Happy. No matter how interested people were in him, Iron Man was the real scoop.

"Peter," Pepper said, gesturing for him to join them.

Peter walked over to them, the shouts echoing in his ears. Pepper positioned them so that Peter was between her and Tony. That made it seem reminiscent of how a child would stand with their parents. Peter decided to trust Pepper's judgement and not comment on that. She only let them take a few photos before forging ahead.

Tony was careful to keep a steadying grip on Peter as Pepper chose which reporters they would talk to. As Tony talked, she would arrange for more staged photos. Tony and Pepper talked to the first few reporters but made it clear Peter wasn't part of those interviews. This led to some confusion as the Starks kept him right next to them. Reporters began dropping heavy hints that they wanted to talk to Peter too. Pepper reluctantly let Tony and Peter step forward for an interview.

"How long has Mr. Parker been your intern?" The reporter asked, looking eager to get as much as possible in the short time Pepper would let them talk.

"I hired Peter when he was a sophomore. He's a senior now," Tony said, discreetly checking to make sure Peter wasn't panicking. He smiled when he saw the kid was okay.

"How did he hear about you? Few people can catch Tony Stark's attention," the reporter said. He shoved the microphone at Peter.

"I applied for his September Foundation and I guess I impressed him enough to get hired," Peter said, not entirely lying. Natasha had been teaching him quite a bit about how to lie convincingly and half of it was mixing in the truth. It helped one seem more honest and trusting even while deceiving.

"Did you have any concerns about hiring someone so young?" The microphone was shoved back towards Tony.

"Seeing as how the smartest person on this planet is Princess Shuri of Wakanda, not really. Age is not a reasonable measure for intelligence," Tony said. Peter wasn't sure if he'd ever seen Tony take an interview this seriously. It was nice to see that Tony was trying to make this as painless as possible for him.

"How long had you been working with Mr. Stark when you made the Web-Shooters?"

Peter said, "I already made the design for them when I was hired. It was part of what landed me my job."

"And how much does he pay you?"

Peter laughed. "I work for free."

"You don't pay your interns?" The reporter asked, looking excited at a chance to dig up dirt on Tony.

"The kid didn't lie, but that's not the whole story. Peter has full access to everything owned by Stark Industries, including my credit card," Tony explained. "He doesn't take advantage of this as much as he should."

The reporter's eyes bulged. "You give your interns the same access that the Avengers have?"

"No. Just Peter. I'd be stupid not to reward him for all the brilliant work he's done for both Stark Industries and the Avengers," Tony said.

"Do you get to work with the Avengers a lot?" She turned the microphone back to Peter.

"I mostly work with Mr. Stark and the other scientists he employs. I'm very lucky that I've met the Avengers at all," Peter said as calmly as he could with a racing heartbeat. He had hoped that no one would ask about his relationship with the Avengers.

"Thank you for your time, but we must keep going," Pepper said, cutting in. "Let's continue our walk."

Pepper tugged them away and whispered, "How are you holding up?"

"That wasn't so bad. Tony took most of the questions," Peter said, glad that Tony was still holding on to him. It helped soothe for his nerves.

"You did good. You're so nervous that it'd be hard for people to tell if you're lying," Tony said. Peter frowned. He thought he'd been hiding his nerves from the reporters.

"Are you ready for more?" Pepper asked. Peter nodded.

They guided him back into the fray.

* * *

All seven of the interviews he did after that followed the same format as the first. The had the same kind of questions and switched back and forth between Peter and whoever was with him. He was usually with Tony, but he did one interview with Pepper and two with the both of them. They were careful to never stray more than a foot away from him. Peter appreciated their over protectiveness at first but it was starting to bother him. Did they think he was that fragile?

Actually, yes. They probably did after last night and his breakdown in the car with Tony yesterday. This would have been a blissful reprieve from his thoughts if it weren't so stressful. He finally understood why Tony and the Avengers did their best to stay out of the spotlight.

"Let's go inside before the vultures ask for more," Tony said, looking up at Pepper for permission.

She nodded distractedly. Peter was sure that she was mentally reviewing everything they'd said. She didn't stop them from ascending the steps into the main foyer, which Peter took as a good sign.

Peter expected a bustling, noisy foyer like the chaotic scene outside, but it was almost empty. Peter looked at the Starks in confusion.

"No one stays here. All the guests are provided with their own rooms so they have no reason to linger in the foyer," Pepper explained. She turned to Happy. "We're going up to our room. You're welcome to come with us."

"Thanks, but you know I'd rather be in there," Happy said, gesturing to the doors of the ballroom. "How long should you be?"

"Fifteen minutes at most," Pepper said. "We'll see you inside."

Happy nodded and headed into the ballroom. Tony released his grip on Peter and offered his wife his arm. Peter trailed behind the couple as they headed up the massive marble stairs like a lost puppy. This was not his comfort zone.

"Here we are," Pepper muttered as they reached the suite at the end of the hall. She pressed her hand on the door and it swung open.

The inside suite was as extravagant as the foyer, and very different from the Facility. Everything was expensive but modern at the Facility. The furniture here wouldn't be out of place in Buckingham Palace and Versailles. Pepper pulled off her heels and flopped on a stiff armchair. After sitting in the armchair next to her, Tony pulled out his phone and began scrolling. Peter followed Pepper's lead and sprawled out on the uncomfortable couch.

"So what's the point of this?" Peter asked, gesturing around them.

"It's a short break before we go to the gala. This is your chance to go the bathroom, make a call, or do whatever else you need to do before you're sucked into the vortex of high society," Pepper explained. "It's just a chance to get away from the cameras."

"Bruce texted. Steve, Sam, and Bucky got a call saying the timetable for their mission was moved up so they had to leave early. Rhodey, Natasha, Clint, and Bruce decided to head to the Barton's farm to give Wanda and Vision some alone time," Tony reported, not looking up from his phone.

"Alone time sounds nice," Pepper said.

Tony looked at her incredulously. "Hey, this is a two-sided problem. I'm not the one who has to be in England Monday morning."

Pepper groaned. "The gala hadn't been moved back yet when I planned that."

Peter closed his eyes and tried to rest, Pepper and Tony's playful argument barely reaching his tired consciousness. Fifteen minutes. Maybe he'd be able to take a quick nap...


	11. Chapter 11

The gala was exactly what Peter expected. He had seen the type of fancy parties Tony and Pepper went to on TV and this one wasn't any different. Simplistic classical music blared down from the speakers, hundreds of super important people that he didn't recognize filled the room, stilted conversations assaulted his ears, and cameramen lurked in the corners of the room. The only bright side was that the all the big shots in the room wanted to talk to Tony and Pepper, not their mildly interesting intern. All Peter had to do was stand behind them and try not to look too bored.

"Peter," Pepper said gently.

Peter looked up and sighed as he realized Tony and Pepper had started walking away and he hadn't even noticed. He caught up to them and turned his head so he wouldn't have to see their worried gazes.

"You shouldn't have come. I mean, after yesterday-" Pepper fretted.

"I'm fine," Peter said, cutting her off. "I zoned out. It happens."

"Are you sure, kid? No one but the reporters will mind if you leave early. Pepper and I may be stuck here, but you're not," Tony said.

Peter had to admit, he wanted nothing more than to go back to his comfy bed in the Facility and get the deep sleep he desperately needed, but he couldn't. He could tell Tony was just saying he could leave because he felt bad for Peter, not because no one would notice. Peter was here to improve his image to the public eye. He'd mess everything up if he left now. Besides, the gala was a good distraction. The less he thought about yesterday, the better.

"I'm fine here," Peter said.

Tony scrutinized him. "You better not be saying this to make us feel better. We're going to worry about you either way."

"I swear, I'm fine. I just zoned out," Peter insisted.

Tony nodded, but still looked skeptical. Pepper was frowning too, but she knew better than to push. Peter was remarkably stubborn when he was determined. The Starks continued on their way over to their table, Peter right behind them. Peter noticed Happy had stationed himself near their table and waved at the man. Happy gave him a nearly imperceptible nod in return.

"No one should bother us for a few minutes. Basic etiquette," Pepper said and took a hearty sip of wine. Peter could tell by how her eyes were constantly moving and her faint frown that she was stressed out. He wished he knew how to assure her that everything was going smoothly so that she'd calm down, but Peter was out of his depth.

Tony pulled out his phone again. "Sam texted. Their mission is expected to go long. If it exceeds a day, they want Barton and Romanoff to join them."

"What are they even doing?" Peter asked. He had been napping on Tony's lap when they explained the details of their mission.

"Something about weapons dealers in China that tried to break into a S.H.I.E.L.D. base," Tony said. "Dear God, Rogers is probably getting shot at right now but he still made Sam ask how you're doing."

"What are you going to say?" Peter asked.

"I'll decide when the gala is over. A lot can change in that time," Tony said, a far off look in his eyes.

"Tony, can you go get me some water?" Pepper asked.

"Of course, honey," he said and of to do her bidding. Pepper had him wrapped around her little finger.

Pepper turned to Peter, her expression dead serious. "He won't talk about it, but the reason he's so on edge at these kinds of events is about what happened with Obadiah. It was at a party like this that a person he thought he could trust betrayed him. If you notice that he starts acting odd, come up with an excuse to get him away from people."

"Do you need to do that a lot?"

"Often enough that it's generally better to leave Tony at home and deal with the press backlash," Pepper said grimly. "It probably won't happen tonight because he wants to hold it together for your sake, but I thought I should warn you."

"Thanks. I'll try to watch for that," Peter said.

Pepper and Peter laughed as they saw that Tony was stuck at the drink bar. An enthusiastic man, probably an entrepreneur or CEO of some kind, had cornered him and was rambling. He was obviously thrilled that he had met Iron Man and was not wasting a second during which he could be talking.

"I see why Tony hates leaving the Facility now," Peter commented. "It's hard to believe he used to like going to fancy stuff like this."

"You're lucky you didn't see him during his partying days. The man you know and the man he was back then are two entirely different people," Pepper said, watching Tony with a soft smile. "The Avengers helped him more than you could ever know."

They had also hurt him more than anyone else, Peter thought to himself. He couldn't say that to her, though. She wasn't there during the Civil War. She didn't hear Tony's voice tremble as he pleaded with the people he considered family to turn themselves in for their own good. She didn't know how much Tony had hated himself for dragging a fifteen-year-old into battle with the world's deadliest fighters. She had only witnessed the aftermath. Tony had regained a purpose when he began advocating to abolish the Sokovia Accords. That was when he reunited with Pepper and actually began connecting with Peter.

Peter's spider sense, a sharp pain to his gut, flared up. Peter tackled Pepper under the table as he shouted, "Everybody, get down!"

And then the world exploded.

* * *

Peter's eyes fluttered open, his vision completely out of focus. His ears were ringing worse than they ever had before, enough so that he couldn't hear the screams of the people running for their lives around him. His mouth and nose burned as smoke filled them, causing him to cough feebly as he came to. The oddest thing was that Peter was laying on something soft. As his eyesight improved, Peter realized he was lying on the unconscious Pepper Stark.

Peter immediately scrambled off her and checked for a pulse, his hands clumsy and a bit bloody from the explosion. He nearly fell back in relief as he felt her fluttering pulse. He don't know what he would have done if she was okay, or, more importantly, what Tony would have done.

Peter looked around as he cast of his blazer and ripped off his shirt, revealing his suit underneath. The guests were blocking his view, but judging by how they were all running past him, he could deduce where the assailants were at. Strategically, their made the most sense. They were blocking the only exit. His ears were still ringing painfully, but his eyes had healed enough to see the bright flashes of light caused by Tony's repulsors.

Before Peter could join the fight, he had to get the injured out of there. He couldn't risk them getting injured in the fight. Peter pulled on his mask and gloves as quickly as he could before scooping up Pepper bridal style and running to the giant walls of glass. The guests were pounding against it, trying to break the glass and get away from the attackers. He shoved his way through the crowd and kicked the glass as hard as he could. It gave way, and soon he had kicked enough of it away to create an opening wide enough for two people at a time.

"Quick, get out of here!" Peter yelled, as he let people head out the crude opening. "Run as far away from here as possible! Help the injured get out of here, too!"

"Is that Spider-Man?"

"How'd he get here so fast?"

Peter was glad his hearing had returned enough to hear the crowd's exclamations. It probably was only because of the suit's modifications, but it was better than the ringing. Peter stopped a guard who was trying to flee with the crowd.

"Take her and know that if anything happens to her, I'll come after you myself. Do you understand?" Peter asked, his cold voice leaving no room for an argument.

The petrified guard nodded and accepted Pepper. Peter watched for a moment to make sure that the man didn't drop her once he was outside. When Peter was satisfied that she was safe, he crawled up the tall window to get a better view of the fight. Dozens of men dressed head to toe in black and wielding high tech guns were shooting at the crowd, but mostly at Tony. He had already summoned his suit and was doing his best to protect the crowd, which meant letting the bullets hit his suit. As impressive as Tony's masterpiece was, it wasn't meant to take heavy fire for long.

Peter swung down and pinned one of the men with his webs before landing in a crouch beneath where Tony was hovering.

"Where's Pepper?" Tony asked, firing away.

"She's out of the building. Have you contacted the rest of the team?" Peter asked as he swung around madly, trying to dodge the bullets while also defending the crowd.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y. sent out the distress call to the Avengers. Steve, Sam, and Barnes are busy in Europe, but Wanda, Vision, Natasha, Rhodey, and Clint are on their way here. They'll be here within the hour," Tony said. "Focus on pinning them down or taking their weapons. I'll protect the crowd."

"Got it," Peter said.

Tony flew back to the opening Peter had created and with a quick shot from his repulsor, widened it even further. Peter swung up to the indoor overlook where several of the men were setting up in sniper position. He trusted Tony to take care of the men down there with the crowd.

Peter kicked the closest man in the chest, knocking him over. He swore and rolled behind an overturned table as the others opened fire.

"Karen, what do you got?" Peter asked, ducking down further as the bullets hit the table.

"Due to your mental state, I recommend that you avoid engaging the assailants directly. Web grenade would be an effective alternative-" Karen said.

"Screw my mental state, there are lives at stake!" Peter shouted, firing a taser web at one of the men who had circled around to shoot at him.

"Peter, Mr. Stark programmed me to consider your well-being above all else," Karen said.

"I don't care. Either tell me what to do or I'm shutting you down," Peter threatened.

"If you can pull the guns away from them, it would be easy for you to take them out in hand to hand combat. That would eliminate the biggest threat in the room. They won't see an attack coming from above," Karen said, changing his web settings to get ready for his attack.

"Thank you," he whispered.

Peter whirled around and kicked the table right into the midst of the shooters. As they all shouted and ran out of the way, Peter lashed out with his webs. He pulled two of the furthest guns out of their hands first and flung them off the overlook. The closest man began shooting at Peter, so he roundhouse kicked the gun and punched the man in the chest. Peter rolled away as the man toppled over.

"Peter, how's it going?" Tony asked.

"Focus on your own fight, I'm fine," Peter snapped, pulling another gun away with his webs. "Actually, Karen, cut comms."

"Peter, wait-" Tony said as Karen did as requested.

"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Karen asked.

"I'm busy," he said, flinging one man into another. They both went down hard, but he couldn't worry about that now. More men were climbing up the stairs.

"Web grenade," Peter ordered, aiming at the stairwell. The thick webs covered the entire doorway. He checked to make sure they couldn't get through before leaping off the edge. He rolled on impact with the floor.

"Why did you cut the comms?" Karen asked, as persistent as ever.

"The guests are in way more danger than me."

Peter sprinted out of the room and towards the stairwell, ignoring Tony's shouts. The men he had trapped in there were starting to pour out of the bottom. Peter launched another web grenade, trapping most of the men. Only one managed to get out and he began firing. Peter rolled behind a post at the bottom of the grand staircase.

"Why the hell are you here?" The man shouted, still firing at the post Peter was stuck behind.

"What?" Peter asked, flabbergasted. "What do you mean why am I here? You're trying to kill innocent people! Did you think I was going to let you?"

"No one has seen Spider-Man for weeks!"

"Are you seriously trying to have a conversation right now?" Peter demanded.

"No. Just stalling," he said.

Peter's spider sense went crazy as a small, metallic object rolled down the stairs. Peter made a mad dash back towards the ballroom, but it was too late. The bomb went off and Peter's vision went black.

* * *

"That's the last of them," Wanda said as she slammed a man against a wall with her mind. "I'll call Laura and Bruce. They should know that we handled it."

Wanda pulled out her phone and headed to the far corner of the room where there were less bodies. Natasha kept her pistols out and watched the unconscious men. Peter's method of knocking his enemies out was morally correct, but a nuisance in the aftermath. Vision and Clint had already left the building to go find and assist the guests who had fled the gala. Happy had already called them. He had found Pepper and taken her back to the Facility for medical treatment. She had hit her head pretty hard during the initial explosion despite Peter's efforts to shield her.

"The fire department, paramedics, and police should be here any second," Natasha said. "Not to mention the reporters that are undoubtedly pulling up right now. Wait, Stark, where are you going?"

Tony had stepped out of his suit clumsily, still stunned from the battle, and wandered towards the demolished foyer.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., sentry mode," Tony ordered. He turned to Natasha. "Peter went that way."

"What? Why didn't you say so?" Natasha demanded, rushing after him.

"I was a little busy getting shot at," Tony said, pushing aside the smoldering doors. "Besides, he turned off his comms."

"Why would he do that?"

"Ask him when we find him."

The once grand foyer was nothing more than a dusty, dangerous wreck. Half of the ceiling had caved in, covering the majority of the grand staircase. The windows at the front of the building had shattered, casting sharp shards of glass all throughout the room.

"F.R.I.D.A.Y., scan the room for life," Tony said, holding up his wrist repulsor.

"In the right corner, past the staircase," she replied.

Natasha and Tony ran to where she had indicted, stumbling over the debris and raising clouds of dust. They found the body of one of the attackers first. Tony had to resist the urge to spit on him. They pushed forward and had nearly given up when they caught some red and blue peeking through the gray dust that coated the foyer. Tony let out a choked sound and dropped to his knees next to Peter.

"Wanda, get over here. We may need you to help, Peter was hurt. We don't know how bad yet," Natasha hurried to say into the comms. "Do you know if the ambulances are here yet?"

"Karen, talk to me," Tony said, pushing some chunks of marble off of Peter. Once they were off, Tony tugged off his mask. Peter's face was bruised and bloody, but he was breathing and that was all that mattered.

"Peter's breathing, but the damage is significant. A concussion, two broken ribs, three breaks in his right leg, his left foot was crushed, multiple cuts and serious bruising all over his body, no internal bleeding, but there is a worrisome wound on his lower abdomen. You need to staunch the bleeding there," Karen instructed. "There's not much else you can do without the proper equipment."

"I got it," Natasha murmured, applying pressure to the bloody hole in his side.

"How did this happen?" Tony asked, choking back tears.

"There was a bomb. There was nothing Peter could do. There was nothing you could do either, Mr. Stark," Karen added. "Peter was determined to fight on his own."

"Did he ever panic?" The words slipped out before he could think about them.

"No. You would have been proud of him."

"I always am."


	12. Chapter 12

"How is he?" Steve asked.

Tony jumped. He hadn't heard the super soldier enter the room. As Steve leaned against the doorframe, Tony rubbed his red eyes and stood up for the first time in hours. Judging by the three empty coffee cups and Tony's unkempt demeanor, Steve deduced that Tony hadn't left Peter's side since Bruce had let Tony and May into the room.

The hospital room was small, but cozy. The walls were painted sky blue, white curtains were pulled back to let sunlight stream in, and Tony had paid good money to make sure Peter got all the blankets and pillows he needed. Actually, Tony had spent a verifiable fortune renting out a hospital room near the site of the disastrous gala, flying Helen Cho in to ensure that Peter got the best care imaginable, and getting dozens of bodyguards to make sure no one, reporters, fans, or enemies, could get to Peter. Not that that was such a concern considering all of the Avengers were either nodding off in the waiting room or in a hotel next door.

"Not bad. Bruce and Helen fixed him up pretty good. They don't know when he's going to wake up, though," Tony said. "They both keep saying that I just need to be patient and let his healing factor and the medicine kick in instead of actually talking about how messed up he still is."

"Where's May? I thought she'd still be in here," Steve said. Her chair to Peter's left had her coat and purse, but was currently unoccupied.

"I convinced her to go back to the hotel. The doctors don't think Peter is going to wake up today anyways, so she might as well get some sleep," Tony said, pouring himself a glass of water from the sink.

"Maybe you should get some sleep too," Steve suggested, knowing Tony would do no such thing, but couldn't stop himself from trying

Tony slowly turned off the faucet and set his glass down. He wasn't facing Steve, but Steve knew Tony well enough to know that he was trying hard to not cry. Tony was not a weepy person. His crappy life had toughened him up considerably, but seeing Peter hooked up to a bunch of machines and covered in bandages was too much for him to handle. Steve knew that Tony was blaming himself for Peter's injuries since they were the only two Avengers at the gala and it was therefore his responsibility to look out for his teammate and he didn't know what he could possibly say to convince Tony otherwise. He never seemed to say the right things to Tony.

"I don't need sleep. I need to stay with Peter."

Steve sighed. "Tony, one of us can stay with him if you're worried about him waking up alone. You need to take care of yourself."

"Cap, I don't even take care of myself on a good day. You don't need to hover over me," Tony insisted.

Steve wished that Pepper could be here to talk some sense into her husband, but she was stuck dealing with the media backlash over the gala. So many people had been hurt and killed, but that wasn't what everyone was buzzing about. No, the hot gossip was that Tony Stark's remarkable intern was actually Spider-Man, the newest Avenger.

Natasha, Wanda, and Tony had been so busy trying to load Peter into the ambulance that they hadn't realized how many reporters had snapped pictures of Peter still in the suit, but with the mask off. None of them had realized what happened until they saw the news playing on the TV in the waiting room. By then it was too late. The whole world knew Peter Parker was Spider-Man.

The governments of the world were in uproar that the Avengers had a so called child soldier. The people were furious that they had been hiding Peter's secret under the thin disguise of a Stark intern without anyone catching on. The media was camped out in front of the hospital trying to get statements from anyone, Avenger, doctor, or janitor, about Peter's well-being. Worst of all was the crying of May Parker as she realized her and Peter's lives had fundamentally changed.

"I'll bring you some food," Steve said.

"You don't have to do that."

"I'm not going to just sit idly by while you waste away," Steve snapped. "After you eat, I'm dragging your ass back to the hotel for sleep and a shower. Then you can come back."

"And what if I object," Tony said, raising his arm to show off his wristwatch repulsor combo.

"Not even you would fight me at Peter's bedside."

Tony couldn't deny it. He sat back down in his chair, looking even more haggard than he had when Steve entered the room only a minute ago, if such a thing was possible. Steve cast one more worried look at his friend before shutting the door.

* * *

Peter's nose twitched.

Peter wasn't awake by any means, which he himself could tell. He was in the state of semi awareness between being asleep and awake where it was his choice whether or not to open his eyes. His limbs felt heavy, his mind unbearably slow, but his nose was driving him insane. The sharp scent of chemicals and antiseptic assaulted his sensitive nostrils, causing him to sneeze himself into consciousness.

"Peter?" A male voice asked apprehensively.

Peter tried to open his eyes but the task proved to be herculanean. It seemed as if they were glued shut for all they budged. Peter was tempted to drift off again, which would be quite easy in his weakened state, but the desperation in the man's voice ensured that Peter would continue his efforts. Slowly, Peter opened his eyes.

He winced. The light was dim, but his eyes were used to the darkness from the back of his eyelids. The room around him gradually came into focus. A plain white ceiling, a blue blanket covering him from the neck down, medical devices hovering around his head like odd science fiction creations, and a man sitting to his right, his brown eyes wide with hope.

"Tony," Peter croaked. His throat rebelled against the action by means of a short coughing fit.

"Are you actually awake this time?" Tony asked, leaning forward in disbelief.

This time? Peter couldn't remember waking up at any other point. The more he thought about it, the more disconcerted he became. He couldn't seem to remember much leading up to the present, especially what had happened to him that called for a hospital. His wounds usually healed in hours, if not minutes. Medical treatment had been unnecessary since the spider bite.

Peter tried to speak again, but all that came out was a raspy cough. Tony got up and began to walk away, radically raising Peter's heartbeat, but only went the sink in the back off the room. He filled a flimsy paper cup with water and set it down on the table next to Peter's bed.

"The doctors said you'd probably be thirsty when you woke up. Do you feel good enough to sit up?" Tony asked.

Peter nodded, unable to speak.

Tony helped Peter sit up slightly. Peter grimaced as his sore, beat up body protested the sudden movement. Once he was relatively well situated, Tony handed him the water. Peter's hand shook slightly, but he was able to drink the entire cup. The cool liquid soothed his scratchy throat.

"May is going to be so mad she missed this," Tony said as Peter drank. "She went to the bathroom only a minute ago. First time she's left your side in hours."

Judging by Tony's ragged appearance, he was willing to bet that Tony hadn't left his side in hours either. Luckily for Tony, Peter was still too hoarse to comment on this.

"I should probably get the doctors. You healed up pretty good on your own, but better safe than sorry," Tony said. "I'll send Bruce in so you're not alone, but the doctors don't want any of the other Avengers hovering. Apparently we've been problematic."

Peter didn't doubt that. The Avengers lost all common sense whenever their teammates were injured or in danger. Peter was growing frustrated though. He still couldn't piece together what precisely happened. He remembered going to the gala and fighting the men dressed in black, but not what got him hospitalized.

"What happened?" Peter asked, his voice cracking horrendously, but his words were understandable.

"You don't remember?" Tony asked. Peter shook his head. "When you went to the foyer, one of the men you were fighting activated a bomb. We found you buried beneath the rubble nearly half an hour later."

"How bad am I?"

"All of you broken bones, bruises, and cuts healed. The only reason you didn't wake up sooner was because you took a big hit to your head. Another concussion to add to your record. Bruce did say you might not remember the explosion," Tony rambled. He shook his head. "Doctors. I need to get the doctors."

Tony walked out of the room, but paused in the doorway. He stood there for a moment as if having an internal debate before turning around.

"I'm really glad you're awake, kid. You were really starting to scare me," Tony admitted.

"Wait, how long was I out?"

It couldn't have been too long, right? The Avengers would have moved him back to the Facility if it had been more than a few days. They hated staying away from their home for extended periods of time, with the exception of Tony, who liked vacationing in super expensive locations. But maybe they wouldn't move him if they worried it might cause a setback in his recovery.

"Three days."

"Three days," Peter repeated faintly. He felt lightheaded.

Tony looked at him sympathetically. "That sounds bad, but the doctors were theorizing you could be out for weeks. It's honestly a miracle that you're even alive."

"Pepper," Peter said suddenly. "What happened to her? Is she okay?"

"She's fine," Tony assured him. "Happy found her and made sure that she was safe. The doctors fixed her up in minutes. She's not here right now, though. She had business elsewhere."

Peter nodded. He understood that as CEO of Stark Industries, Pepper didn't have time to stay in a hospital for three days, waiting on the off chance that Peter might wake up. A brief lull of silence ensued during which neither of them quite knew what to say, but weren't ready to part.

"Tony," Peter began to say, but then faltered. How would he even phrase his concern?

"It's just us," Tony said, shutting the door. He knew Peter well enough to tell what was on his mind.

Peter bit his lip. "At the gala . . . did I kill anyone?"

Tony smiled. "No one. All of the men you fought on the upper deck lived, as did the ones you trapped in the stairwell. The only ones who you fought who died were killed in the same explosion that landed you here."

Peter let out a shaky sigh of relief. "Thanks for telling me."

"No problem, kid. Now I better get those doctors before May comes back and refuses to leave," Tony said, stepping out into the hall again. "Just try to take it easy, okay?"

Peter grinned. "Okay."

* * *

The scene in the waiting room was hysterical. No one would believe it if they didn't witness it with their own two eyes. Earth's Mightiest Heroes were sprawled out in small waiting room, munching on hospital food, and trying not to nod off. To the everlasting credit of his team, Tony was proud to say that not a single one of them had left the city since they arrived. They rejected all of their mission offers and cancelled any other events they might have planned. All of them were determined to be there for Peter.

Clint was napping with his head on Natasha's lap as her and Bruce conversed quietly. Steve was sketching in his notebook near the window, which Tony found brave considering the dozens of eager reporters camped outside the building. Wanda and Vision were reading side by side in the corner. Rhodey was speaking softly on the phone to Maria Hill about a mission he needed to delay. Bucky and Sam were as far away from each other as they could get while still being on the couch closest to Steve. Both of them were on their phones, ignoring the other's existence pointedly. Tony idly wondered what stupid argument they had gotten into this time.

"Tony?" Steve asked in disbelief. Everyone else's heads snapped up to look at the billionaire.

Steve set down his notebook and gaped at Tony, amazed that he left Peter's room of his own accord. Everyone else had been bringing him food and took turns ushering him back to the hotel to sleep, shower, and change his clothes. Naturally, everyone assumed the worst. Natasha shook Clint awake so he would hear whatever news Tony brought.

"Is Peter alright?" Steve asked.

Tony looked dazed. "He's awake."

Before anyone had time to react to Tony's announcement, a doctor rushed into the room. "Dr. Banner, we need your assistance. You understand his physiology better than even Dr. Cho."

"Of course," Bruce said, following the doctor out of the room.

"How was he?" Natasha asked as Clint sat up.

"Okay, I think. I mean, he was stiff, sore, and a little confused, but he was talking pretty clearly by the time I left," Tony said, sitting down near Rhodey. "He doesn't even remember the explosion itself."

"Where's May?" Wanda asked, realizing that May should have been kicked out with Tony.

"She might still be in the bathroom. She's going to be so pissed when she finds out she missed him waking up," Tony said.

"I'm going to go check on her. She needs to know that he's awake," Wanda said, getting up. Vision bookmarked her page and set down her book on top of his.

"What did you tell him?" Steve asked, tossing his sketchbook aside.

"I told him that he was out for three days, that Pepper was fine, what happened at the gala, and how badly he was hurt," Tony listed.

"And?" Natasha prompted, sensing that he was omitting something.

"Peter wanted to know if he killed anyone," Tony said, fiddling with his watch repulsor. "He didn't, and I told him that, but you should have seen how scared he looked when he asked."

"Poor pauk," Natasha murmured.

"Did you tell him that the whole world knows he's Spider-Man now?" Steve asked.

"I didn't feel like putting that burden on him right now. We'll tell him when the doctors clear him."

"We'll have to considering all the cameras outside are for him."

"Boys, we can worry about that later. All that matters is that he's alive and going to make a full recovery," Natasha said sternly. She liked focusing on the here and now, the variables she could control or manipulate.

Tony smiled, the first time his teammates had seen him do so in three days. "Yes, he is."


	13. Chapter 13

It was a good thing that the gala happened only weeks before graduation, because Peter wasn't able to go back to Midtown. It took one week for Peter to be released from the hospital, and one more to move him and May to move into the Facility. Now that everyone knew who he was, he couldn't stay in the apartment without endangering everyone around him.

For the next two weeks, Peter helped the Avengers verify that he wasn't a child soldier and that they had played no part in giving him powers. Due to overwhelming public support, the authorities couldn't touch them. The only thing they could do was declare that Peter couldn't return to Midtown as a matter of public safety.

Peter didn't really mind. He still saw Ned and MJ all the time and did the assignments his teachers sent him. He even took his AP tests at the Facility. The only condition he had was that he and all of the Avengers could go to his graduation.

Once the authorities reluctantly agreed that after everything he'd done he deserved to at least graduate, they had to choose a secure building to hold the ceremony. Tony offered up the Facility without hesitation, and redid an entire wing to accommodate all of the incoming students and their families.

The ceremony was strange for everyone, but even more so for Peter. He had resigned himself to the fact that there was no way the Avengers could possibly attend his graduation, but everything had changed. The Avengers and their companions took up the entire front section of seats as Tony was the generous patron of the graduation. Pepper and May flanked Tony, who was in the dead center. Harley was sitting next to Pepper, having come all the way from Europe to see Tony's other child and his family were next to Harley, and Natasha was with them as the honorary aunt, Nathaniel Pietro in her arms. Steve, Bucky, Rhodey, and Sam were on May's left, looking both bewildered by the turn of events and proud at the same time. Wanda, Vision, and Bruce were next to the soldiers, looking distinctly uncomfortable. This was way out of their comfort zone.

It wasn't just them, though. Scott and Hope were in the row behind them, and an entire delegation from Wakanda was next to them. T'Challa, Nakia, Shuri, and Okoye drew nearly as much as attention as the Avengers. Hill and Fury were also there dressed in simple but efficient disguises. Peter didn't know any of them except for Shuri very well, but they weren't there for him. No, they were all there for the giant after party Tony was throwing in celebration of successfully repealing the Sokovia Accords once and for all. They could no longer stand now that there was teenage superheroes and public support for the Avengers had been renewed.

Peter tried hard not to squirm as he sat with all of the fellow graduates on the stage, very much aware that most of the audience and his classmates were looking at him. He hadn't left the Facility in a few weeks, so this was the first semi public glimpse of Spider-Man anyone had seen since the gala.

Peter caught Natasha's gaze and she subtly signed _pay attention_ while still holding the toddler. Peter couldn't help it. He laughed. Clint elbowed Natasha, but the damage was done. Every Avenger's eyes were on them, which meant that _everyone's_ eyes were on the master assassins as they engaged in a subtle mock fight.

To the everlasting credit of Principal Morita, he kept going and didn't let the Avengers distract him. Clint and Natasha settled down after a stern glare from Steve and Peter did his best not to look at any of them. They were too distracting, but Peter was glad they were there. They were family, albeit a traumatized, messed-up family.

Principal Morita began calling up the students to get their diplomas. Peter didn't recognize lots of names, but he grinned for all of his friends from decathlon and band. It was a while before his best friends were called, though.

"Edward Leeds," Principal Morita said.

Ned looked dumbstruck as he shook the principal's hand and accepted his diploma. Peter wanted to clap for his friend, but they were under strict instructions not to. He settled for smiling and giving Ned a subtle thumbs up.

A few more names before he said, "Michelle Jones."

Though she had claimed she found the entire graduation ceremony stupid and a waste of time, Peter could tell MJ was happy as she held her diploma. She turned around to smile at Peter and give him a vulgar gesture. Peter laughed even harder than before.

MJ was going to Princeton in the fall, and Ned was going to MIT. A few months ago, Peter had been debating about whether or not to join Ned or to make Spider-Man his full time job. In his weeks of isolation, he had decided on a third option. Shuri was going to college in Wakanda and had pulled some strings to get him in so late. It seemed like the perfect answer. He could continue to learn in the most prestigious college in the world no less, and stay in contact with all of his superhero friends. As for Spider-Man, Peter hoped to spend awhile figuring out who he was without the mask. He was still determined to team up with the Avengers when he had the time, but he finally had the chance to balance his two worlds instead of trying to reconcile their warring problems. Even Tony agreed it was his best option, though he was upset that Peter wouldn't follow in his footsteps by going to MIT.

"Peter Parker."

A slight hush fell as his name was called. Peter walked forward on shaky legs and shook his hand.

"Congratulations, Mr. Parker," Principal Morita said, handing him the diploma.

In stark contrast to a few seconds ago, the room exploded with applause and whistling, mostly coming from the front of the room. May was crying as she clapped, Steve rubbing her back in a useless effort to comfort. Tony was all but giving him a standing ovation, pride clear in his eyes. Peter felt his own eyes well with tears as he look at his teammates, his family. They really were an emotional lot.

Peter barely felt as his classmates clasped his shoulder and patted his back. The next hundred or so names seemed to go by in a blur, and before he knew, they were tossing their caps in the air. Tony had printed on his spider symbol to the top of his cap, so everyone could clearly see his in the throng of black.

The cheering barely reached Peter as he made his way out of the cluster of graduates, only pausing to kiss MJ's cheek and to hug Ned. The Avengers waited as he leapt of the stage and scooped up Aunt May, letting his super strength show for the first time in public. May laughed and clung to her little boy, crying too hard to even say anything. Peter kissed her before heading into the waiting arms of his team.

The soldiers tousled his hair as Pepper and Wanda kissed his cheeks. Peter nearly was nearly knocked over by Lila and Cooper, Clint's children, before picking them both up and delivering them back to their father, who enveloped the young man in a big hug. Natasha smirked as she hugged Peter, seeing that he was seconds away from crying.

Harley shook his hand, grinning like a madman. "Go to him before he slips away. He always feels out of place at these kinds of things."

Peter knew who he meant. Tony was talking with Pepper quietly away from everyone, his fingers nervously drumming against the side of his leg. Peter quietly pushed his way out of the group of well wishers. They smiled and moved aside as they saw where he was heading. Peter didn't notice as a few of them slipped out their phones.

"Hey, kid," Tony said, but Peter didn't let him finish. Pepper stepped back as Peter buried his face in Tony's chest, hugging Tony even harder than he hugged his aunt.

Tony was caught off guard. "Peter?"

"Thank you," Peter whispered, crying a little.

"What for?" Tony asked, trying to keep his composure as he saw that several Avengers were recording this.

"Everything."

That did it. Tony broke down crying, his head resting on his Peter's. Tony was a man of science. He didn't believe in magic or fate, but he could think of no other explanation as to how he had managed to find Peter. Out of the billions of people on this planet alone, how could he, the unluckiest person to ever live, find the smartest, most compassionate, and most forgiving boy anyone had ever met? How was it possible that a boy desperately in need of a father had met the one man who didn't know he needed a son?

"I love you, Peter," Tony whispered, careful to keep his voice low so that only he would hear.

Peter cried harder. "I love you, too."

"You're getting all of this, right?" Natasha asked, watching the two of them with a smile.

"Every second of it," Shuri said with an mischievous grin, her phone recording.

 **The End**

* * *

 **Phantom Blood was a story I began writing while I was bored in class and didn't want to do any actual work. My sister recommended the prompt that birthed Phantom Blood; how would Peter react to killing someone? I'm a big fan of writing angst and hurt/comfort stories so the prompt immediately appealed to me. I loved exploring the depths of Peter's trauma, his relationship with the Avengers, and, above all else, his relationship with Tony. I honestly didn't mean to focus on Tony as much as I did, but I found that I both enjoyed writing how Tony fit into all of Peter's craziness and seeing how many different directions their relationship could take.**

 **I'll be honest, I began to grow bored of writing this story in the last few chapters. As a writer, I'm constantly coming up with new ideas both for original works and fanfiction. I very rarely finish stories that I start, but I knew that Peter's story deserved a proper ending and that lots of readers also deserved that. I hope that you enjoyed my story and found that the ending satisfied your hopes for Peter.**

 **I plan to continue writing on this site, but won't be posting any new stories for awhile. If you enjoyed this story, I've posted three others, all one-shots. I highly recommend reading The Lessons That Save Lives, which is perhaps my favorite story that I've ever written. I would like to thank Lady of Lorule for both helping me polish this story and supporting me throughout the entire writing process. Lady of Lorule is a talented writer and has many amazing stories on this site that you should check out. Thank you for all of your favorites, follows, and reviews. I see and appreciate all of them. Your reviews in particular always make my day.**

 **-Beauty In Her Darkness**


End file.
